1972 Citroën DS20 Super

First registered on 3 May, 1972 this D Super is a model that was previously called the ID (pre-1968). That really only means that its braking system isn’t by hydropneumatics, using a more conventional hydraulic and servo arrangement. Depending on your desire for Citroen purity, that’s either a good or a bad thing. Those not used to the quirks of the former will surely welcome a centre pedal that’s far easier to regulate for the uninitiated. This car left the factory with white paint but has been repainted at least twice, with the V5C telling us it’s red… apparently. A simple case of a note not being sent to the DVLA after it its latest silver coating back in 2009, we suspect.

That last repaint coincided with a lot of structural and bodywork repair, as is clear by the car’s fairly extensive recent history, it’d been patched up to the point where a more rigorous restoration was needed. That work was done while it was in the care of well-known former classic dealers, Eclectic Cars. Also receiving an audio upgrade and near total interior refresh during the same overhaul. Just a year later, the fruits of these labours were acknowledged when the car was the cover star of the May 2010 issue of Retro Cars magazine.

We couldn’t track down the exact colour of this Citroen, but nevertheless, its highly attractive silver paint remains resplendent even 13 years after it was applied. The history shows a whopping bill for over £9k spent on the repaint with plenty of other cosmetic work also carried out at the same time. We’ll cover more of that in the history section shortly…

The upright nature of many of the panels that make up this timeless design would show any imperfections immediately, though we’re pleased to report that there are very few causes for complaint. The main niggles are limited to a couple of bubbles on the offside front wing and some more on its lower trailing edge – though none appears to have broken the paint.

The lavish adornments of this DS remain mostly still gleaming, including its ‘wash board’ C pillar and the vast amount of chrome, well, everwhere. We’d expect the latter from a design that emerged from the mid-1950s and we’re not disappointed. There is the odd minor blemish here and there to the reflective bits, but we’d class most of these as patina, rather than anything more serious.

The car’s panels fit in the usual French way, that is not even close to uniform. The rear is particularly wonky but we did check, that’s just the way Citroen made them. Seriously, even the one rendered in beautiful high-definition 3D on Citroen’s own heritage website is nowhere near straight. Its makers had far more important things to worry about, like being seen to be agonisingly fashionable in posh parts of Paris. Being seen is taken care of in this DS by glass that appears to be in excellent shape, with equally crisp looking light lenses too.

The only other paltry imperfection worth noting on the outside was the trim surrounding the side mirrors, which has cracked in multiple places on both sides. Oh, and there’s a small dent to the nearside edge of the front bumper. Generally, however, this 50-year-old Citroen still looks mighty fine.

The beauty of the DS design doesn’t cease once the doors are open. The cabin of this 1970s example might lack some of the flair if the original 1950s DS, but even in updated D Super form, there’s still plenty for your eyes to feast upon. Black vinyl seats contrast perfectly with red velour door cards and deep red carpets. The former, on the driver’s side, has some slightly darker spots on its periphery and a little fraying of material on the armrest, but nothing that looks incurable. There’s also a slight creasing to the base of the driver’s seat, but again, we’d struggle to label this as anything more than patina.

When the extensive body refresh was carried out in 2010, the opportunity was also taken to bring the cabin appointments a bit more up-to-date. Some large component speakers have been added to the rear parcel shelf – though not too stealthily, we have to admit. The stereo powering them is also a bit modern to properly blend in, though we don’t doubt it sounds a whole lot better than the factory-supplied effort. A Parrot (or similar) bluetooth handsfree gadget has been added to the dash and also a cable of some description emanates from the glovebox. We didn’t have our noughties audio device with us to test this last addition. We’re sure there’s a modern upgrade cable out there.

The headlining appears to be in good order, though its colour probably isn’t the best match for the rest of the cabin. The trim on the nearside C pillar is no longer affixed at its top, though we hardly noticed as we were distracted by that rear window louvre in the back. It’s truly magnificent, why don’t more cars come with these? We couldn’t find an awful lot wrong with any of the controls except for a little wear on the dash buttons, but that’s hardly out of the ordinary for a 50-year-old classic.

As it’s a Super, this DS got the newer 2.0-litre 98bhp engine that’s good for 105mph. This one has been treated to regular servicing, the latest of which occurred in May 2021 and included oil, filters and coolant. The top of the air cleaner looks a bit rusty, but that’s nothing a morning spent with some sand paper and a rattle can can’t fix. There’s a Hancook spare in the unconventional spot up in front of the radiator, though we’re not sure that we’d want to go too far on it, as the tread’s inner edge is bald. There are signs that the offside edge of the bonnet is catching on the front wing and the paint has worn through here. There’s also a little surface rust and peeling paint on the offside inner wing, perhaps from some spilt fluid? There’s the mention of a steam clean of the engine bay on that same service invoice from May 2021, which lists an LHM leak as the cause. The pump was refurbished at the same time though, so it appears to no longer be an issue.

The floors and sills of this DS do show some signs of previous repairs, though they seem to have been done well and still look as solid as the surrounding metal. The underseal has been topped up at some point too, with a good coating still keeping the elements at bay. We caught signs of a little surface rust on some of the more exposed surfaces, but this does appear mild, especially for French a car of this vintage. There’s also what appear to be new polyurethane upgrades to the suspension too.

There’s a good wad of recent history accompanying this car, though we do mean recent – there’s no invoices from pre-2003. The big one that should grab your attention for all the right reasons is a bill for correcting some significant rust back in 2009. The long list of work detailed includes the following; new metal for the OSR inner wheel arch & bumper mount, NSR same, NSR boot lid closing area & water channel repaired, OSF inner wheel arch replaced, NSF same, OSF sill section repaired, both rear wings also had panels welded in, OSF previously poor repair cut out and extensive repair carried out to the wheel arch, NSF same and the front valance was replaced. All of the above cost £1280, which is peanuts compared to the next bill…

…The re-paint in 2010 was conducted by C & N Customs and despite the work above, still involved some extensive additional prep work and the installation of that sound system. A wheel refurb, new carpets, new door seals and even more welding repairs to the sills were also taken care of. This little lot cost a substantial £9475. All of which was done when the car was in the custody Eclectic Cars. It was clearly money well spent as the car went on to be the cover star of the May 2010 issue of Retro Cars magazine (copy included in the history).

Since then, the vendor informs us that the car has been rarely used, spending the majority of the decade since restoration in dry storage. That was until last year when the lack of use finally prompted the vendor to get it ready for sale. The Project Shop in Bicester was tasked with giving the DS a comprehensive refresh in May 2021, which took the form of the following;

- Brake light circuit repaired and new bulbs fitted

- O/S front headlight replaced and wiring repaired

- Wipers replaced

- Washers unblocked and washer bottle sterilised and re-filled

- Engine bay stripped back to gain access to LHM pump and front brakes

- LHM pump and drive belts replaced, various pipes and clips replaced

- System filled with new fluid, pressure tested

- Ignition system service - new components including cap, rotor arm, condenser, HT leads

- Ignition timing and carb set up

- Front brakes stripped, cleaned and rebuilt. New pads fitted

- New hand brake pads fitted

- Front LHM sphere replaced

- Rear flexible brake pipes replaced

- Brake bleed

- Engine, gearbox and coolant service. New fluids and filters

- Engine bay steam cleaned to remove all of the spilt LHM, oil and debris

- Hire of steam cleaner. Hand brake pads. MOTUL Gearbox Oil to OEM Spec

This DS has had a lot of money spent on it. Despite the restoration taking place nearly 13 years ago, so few miles have been covered since that you could still consider it fresh. The detriments of spending all that time parked up have been recently rectified and the vendor informs us that the car now wants for nothing.

Together with the useful upgrades to the interior appointments, the car now begs for some much-needed regular use. For these reasons and the car’s general condition, we see it making between £17,000-£22,000.

Viewing is always encouraged. This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.