All big, wacky Citro?saloons eventually make the classic grade. We almost made it but eventually our temperature gauge, too, began to lean ominously to the right and we finally cruised to a standstill. The unseasonally warm weather, comic incompetence of the Parisian traffic police and the resultant crawling traffic had begun to take its toll and ailing DSs now lined the route, their bonnets raised. On the day, I bagged my ride in one of the most desirable DSs of them all - a 1966 Chapron drop top, owned by a hospitable Citro?dealer from Dortmund called Jens. It felt grand, ensconced in this seductive motor car, swanning past crowds of bystanders, down to the Seine, past the Palais Royale and across to the Left Bank, before heading for the Eiffel Tower and.. chaos. Over 150 different versions of the DS were made over the next two decades, but even when the last car rolled off the line in 1975, it was still somehow futuristic, particularly at a time when we were still trying to flog the world Hillman Hunters. Roland Barthes christened the car the D?se, or goddess, and it went on to play a crucial role in the cultural and even political life of France - a DS saved the life of Charles de Gaulle during the 1962 attempt on his life (thanks to its self-levelling suspension a DS can drive on three wheels if necessary; his managed to keep going despite being riddled with bullets).
It was unveiled on 6 October 1955 at the Paris Salon and was an instant and, it turned out, enduring sensation. Designed by Flaminio Bertoni, together with former aerospace engineer Andr?efebvre, the DS was sleek, spacious and radical in every regard, a car from outer space landed on planet Vauxhall. Its pi? de r?stance was a high-pressure hydraulic power unit that operated the steering, brakes and hydropneumatic suspension and which, together with the bounciest armchairs ever fitted to an automobile, gave it a uniquely floaty yet controlled ride - unsurpassed even today (Rolls-Royce later adopted the same system). I complimented a Swiss owner on his dazzling, glassy black, top- of-the-range DS 23. What is it about the DS that inspires such devotion? I asked. "It lives, you know, it breathes," he said, pointing at a car being started nearby as it rose majestically on its cushion of air and seemed almost to sigh back on its haunches The Citro?DS remains a startling sight. One of the great perks of living just around the corner from the Champs-Elys? - aside from the reassurance of knowing that an unlimited supply of Ladur?pistachio macaroons is close by - are the parades.
These range from poignant, doddering veterans to chemically saturated whippets on bikes - both of which I can take or leave. But when I heard that Paris would be marking the 50th anniversary of the most extraordinary car ever made by hosting a massive parade in its honour, I knew I had to be a part of it. Citro?DS Would suit:The passionate and the patient Price: £4,000 to £10,000 Maximum speed: 120mph, 0-60 in 11.8 secs (DS23 EFI Pallas) Combined fuel consumption: 23mpg And so, one Sunday morning earlier this month, I walked to Avenue Foch, where I was confronted by a gathering of biblical proportions: 1,600 Citro?DSs of every colour and creed, from museum-piece 1955 originals, to unique coach-built convertibles, to freak-show custom jobs (one German had covered his with fur - kerr-ayzee!). He also selects colours for his home based on his travels, such as the yellow canvas behind the bed inspired by Tibetan flags, and the vivid red used for curtains, cushions and canvases, that comes from his visits to India.In the winter, Demo leaves Ibiza to go home to Argentina, and to explore India, travelling to Delhi, Goa and Jaipur. His bedroom is full of finds from these exotic journeys to the Subcontinent, such as the blue-and-white patchwork quilt and the red 19th-century carpet with embroidered gold edging. The mosquito net hanging from the ceiling is from South America.
