1975 Citroën DS23 Pallas

This magnificent DS23 Pallas is a BVH variant, with those letters standing for Boîte de Vitesses Hydraulique and denoting that the car has a hydraulic semi-automatic gearbox – effectively a clutchless manual system.

We have driven this fine example and can attest to the fact that the model’s renowned ride quality is present, correct and utterly grin-inducing.

The car wafts along on a frictionless, whisper-quiet, silky-soft cloud of Gallic élan, despatching potholes, speed bumps and other road hazards with an insouciant shrug.

It is officially smoother than an otter in an evening suit.

Which, as everyone knows, is really very smooth indeed.

The vendor has owned the car since September 2021 and has spent plenty of time and money perfecting the nearly £50,000-worth of restoration work commissioned by the previous owner from renowned DS experts, Pallas Auto.

That major, bare metal, ground-up restoration took three years to complete, from 2016 to 2019, and the work was evidently carried out to a very high standard.

The work included a full engine and gearbox rebuild, fully stripped and restored body work, a new leather interior, carpets and complete re-trim, and a full repaint.

The result of all this labour, expenditure and meticulous attention to detail is a car that’s every bit as delightful to drive as it is to look at.

And it looks utterly gorgeous.

Viewed from any angle you choose, this is an exceptionally good-looking car.

As eye catching today as it must have been when new, the car’s unique profile is mercifully undisturbed by any significant dinks, dents, creases, ripples or folds that aren’t meant to be there.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp and even.

Originally ‘Delta Blue’ in colour, the car changed hue during the bare-metal restoration and now has Citroën Gris Palladium paint on the bodywork and Citroën Gris Argent for the ‘floating’ glass-fibre roof, which was sourced anew from a South African donor car during the restoration.

All brightwork, rubbers and seals were replaced during the restoration, the bumpers, hub caps and elsewhere is accordingly free of any tarnishing, foxing and pitting that we can see.

All 5 wheels look to be in excellent condition, save for the odd spot of surface rust here and there on the road wheels, and are today shod in the correct Michelin XAS rubber.

Faults on this sublime car are really very few and far between, but it’s our job to be pernickety, so here goes: there’s a paint chip low down on the o/s/r wing near the door; there is a tiny indentation on the n/s/f wing; there is a slight ripple to the paint on the boot lid; there are a few entirely standard stone chips around the ‘nose’ of the car, plus a little dirt inside the headlamp cowls; and the metal on the o/s/r door seemed to us to be a trifle ‘wobbly – we’ve no idea how or why and we apologise for not having a better vocabulary with which to describe it.

Either way, these are all very minor foibles on what is, by any measure, an exceptionally high-quality example of the marque and the model.

The lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all beyond reproach, as far as we can see.

The interior is every bit a match for its exterior counterpart in terms of quality, condition and preservation.

In fact, if you’re thinking that the ‘Tabac’ leather upholstery (sourced from Canada), matching leather armrest and headrests, and light brown, 80% wool-blend carpets look pretty much brand-new….that’s because they are.

Being new, the leather on the seats has yet to earn so much as a light crease, let alone any time-served, ingrained patina.

The carpets are in equally unimpeachable condition and look to be in fine condition throughout.

The brightwork on the interior is as shiny and lustrous as that on the outside.

The door cards are in fine fettle and the replacement headlining is taut, tight and untroubled by any holes or marks.

As a concession to the modern world, the original stereo has been replaced with a retro-styled unit with Bluetooth.

As far as we and the vendor are aware, all knobs, buttons, dials, switches, gauges and levers do what they’re supposed to do without deviation, repetition or hesitation.

The boot, which is every bit as impressive as the rest of it, contains a useful collection of spares and accessories.

The clean, dry, shiny engine you’re looking at is the Pallas-spec 2,347cc 4 cylinder, 8 valve petrol engine, capable of delivering some 115 bhp through the car’s Boîte de Vitesses Hydraulique 4-speed semi-automatic gearbox.

Everything is in its right and proper place, as far as we can tell.

As part of the restoration, the engine and gearbox were rebuilt, the hydraulics revised, and the car was fitted with electronic ignition and a new alternator.

The undersides of the car look sound and solid to us.

Everything looks to have plenty of structural integrity.

Nothing we’ve seen has given us any cause to raise an eyebrow or emit an involuntary tut.

This was one of the last DS models manufactured – just one of 874 built in 1975.

We believe it to have had just four previous owners from new.

The vendor has had the car fully serviced and MOT tested by Pallas Auto - the firm that so expertly restored it - every year since he bought it.

In addition, he has had Pallas Auto fit the following new or remanufactured parts when the originals were found to be not the best that they could be.

We commend his attention to detail, which is revealed by the fact that he replaced the entire rear screen because the original demisting panel was no longer working.

· Set of 5 Michelin XAS tyres £1,100

· Rear screen with demister panel £265

· Remanufactured power steering rack £1,100

· Remanufactured front hubs £900

· Remanufactured hydraulic pump £410

· Remanufactured hydraulic pressure regulator £200

· Pressure reserve sphere £35

· Suspension spheres (x4) £180

· Historic NOS Citroën hazard warning light system £110

· Fuel tank £345

· Heater matrix £140

Total £4,785

These costs exclude labour at Pallas Auto, as the cost of fitting these parts was included with the annual service labour charges – a figure that would have been comfortably in excess of £3,000.

The car comes with two sets of keys, a user manual, its original service book, photographs of the restoration, all manner of bills, invoices and receipts, and a clear HPI report.

Although the car’s MoT has recently expired, you can see for yourself from the DVLA website that none of the car’s recent MoTs has featured so much as a single advisory note.

Wetherspoons up and down the country are filled with drawn and broken-looking wretches dropping bitter tears of regret into their reasonably priced pints.

These are often people who have bought a ‘cheap’ Citroën DS only to find that it steals their wallet, beats them up, rescinds their golf club membership, and makes them homeless within 6 months.

Buying one of these hugely innovative and mechanically complex cars is not something to be entered into lightly.

As ever, the sage advice is to buy one where someone else has done all the heavy lifting to ensure that the chassis and bodywork are rock solid, and that all of the car’s oleo-pneumatic sorcery has been properly sorted and fettled.

In this instance, with this car, you’re as near as you’re going to get to a safe bet with a Citroën DS.

It’s had an eye-watering amount of money spent on it, and all through the best people in the business.

So, it’s not so much a case of caveat emptor as nunc est emendum.

Go on.

It’s OK to use Google Translate.

We did.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £25,000 - £35,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.