CITROËN DS. 70 YEARS OF UNPARALLELED. PART 2. THE CHAPRON CONCORDE

De Citroën DS is celebrating its 1955th anniversary this year. In October XNUMX, the French manufacturer turned the world upside down with its ultra-modern Citroën DS to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. Under the large domes of the Grand Palais, crowds of people gathered to see the Goddess. Seventy years later, the DS and the models inspired by it still attract admiring glances. In the coming period, we will regularly pay attention to the beautiful model series of Citroën, and its derivatives. In addition, you can read an extensive story about the history of the illustrious car in the next AMK issue (number five of this year).

Yes. That is also a wish. To drive with and make a report about one of Henri Chapron's creations. The coachbuilder from Levallois built on the basis of the Citroën DS chassis numerous beautiful bodies, which were also ultra-luxurious. The studio came up with very, very beautiful creations, as mentioned. One of the most striking models was - and taste is personal, we know - the Citroën DS Chapron Concorde. This particular body style was built 38 times (1961-1965), and we describe - with thanks to Hyman Ltd - the beautiful example from 1965 that they sold. Yes. This variant is inspired by the DS 21, and it is beautiful in every way. And so is the DS Chapron story.

The DS made its debut at the 1955 Paris Motor Show. At the Grand Palais, Chapron decided to work on his own creations based on the new Citroën. He was already deeply impressed by the brand's new top model with the Double Chevron. The DS was immediately in great demand, and still had to deal with teething problems. While Citroën concentrated on building the four-door sedan and perfecting its complex systems, France's most prestigious coachbuilder, Henri Chapron, found room for improvement in the design. Despite a decline in demand for bespoke bodies, Chapron held its own by building panels for Salmson and Hotchkiss. In Levallois, they also provided custom bodies for the Citroën Traction Avant.

En the workshop wanted to continue with the Double Chevron. Despite his status and connections with Citroën the coachbuilder had great difficulty in obtaining a DS chassis directly from the factory, also because of the overwhelming public demand for the DS. He was forced to buy a new DS. Not from the factory, but from a dealer. Chapron did so, and he converted the purchased DS into a convertible. The factory had initially planned to design and build a convertible version itself. When they got wind of Chapron's creation, they decided to join forces with the coachbuilder. This is how the Decapotable Usine was actually created, the factory version of the Citroën DS convertible. The bodywork was made in Levallois. That's right: at Atelier Henri Chapron.

The production of the DS factory convertible took up a great deal of the workshop's time, but Chapron still created other unique variants of the DS for limited production and individual customers. These included the Dandy coupe, the four-seater Concorde coupe, and the Majesty limousine. All are desirable and coveted body styles.

The pictured Citroën Henri Chaprón's 21 DS1965 Concorde coupe is a beauty. This car is one of approximately 35 Concordes built by the Levallois coachbuilder Chapron. Furthermore, the protagonist in this story is only one of only six cars built from the second Concorde series. This one is distinguished by the veneered rear wing treatment. Chapron's construction records show that chassis number 4.350.009 arrived at Chapron in October 1965 and was assigned order number 7550. It was completed and invoiced on December 10, 1965.

Befitting a coachbuilt car, this example featured a host of luxury options. The high specification as stated on the build sheet included electric windows, leather upholstery, optional Jaeger instrument panel, Radiomatic FM radio with Hirschmann automatic aerial, Marchal fog lamps (including a pair incorporated into the lower skirt) and Robergel wire wheels. The handsome Midnight Blue and Shell Grey paint scheme it wears today is the original colour scheme as specified on the build sheet. All told, the price was almost 41.000 FF. That was the equivalent of over $8.000 at the time. And with that came the Citroën from Chapron at the price point of the new Cadillac Series 75 Limousine.

The car pictured has been restored, which happened around the year 2000. The carpeting (plush) and the furniture (leather) were renewed. And other things remained in their original state, as many original things were preserved for this beautiful French classic. The Robergel spoke wheels, for example, are completely intact, and wear the Michelin XAS tires. The color scheme remained the same as the two-tone shade with which the Citroën rolled out of the factory. The details of the Concorde are simply magnificent. The interior, the finish and the beautiful dashboard catch the eye, and then get under the skin. The photos speak for themselves in that respect.

The technology is taken from the DS 21. It is remarkable that this Concorde is actually based on the DS 21 from the first model year (1966). The complete hydraulic DS system is integrated, and the beautiful Chapron creation is propelled by the 2175 cc DX engine with 109 SAE hp. And what this coachbuilt classic even more special: this example is probably the last Concorde in the Chapron series.

Source and images: Hyman Ltd