The dream of open driving - 1967 Citroën DS21 Décapotable
Was it this futuristic shape of the DS, the divine streamline, that called for a convertible? Or the sensational hydropneumatic levitation that led to the cabriolet idea? We do not know it. What we do know is that in 1956 the Chapron coachbuilders contacted Citroën. Two years later, Chapron presented the first open DS, and a collaboration developed that led to the factory cabriolets.
In fact, turning the DS sedan into a convertible is anything but easy. First, the rear doors must go. The front are redrawn, they add 18 centimeters in length. The trunk lid also needs to be redesigned. The integration succeeds optimally, the optics appear to be of one piece. The lid is now made of polyester.
There is also the problem with the turn signals. As is well known, they sit in the roof of the DS. This is now only available as a textile and is therefore out of the question. Chapron solves the problem with elegance. The turn signals find a new place on the back of the fenders and the taillights are also changed.
This is the easiest exercise on the way to the open DS. The coachbuilders access the Citroën parts warehouse and use the taillights of the US models.
The start for Chapron is not easy
In the beginning, the cooperation was a bit difficult, the manufacturer supplied the coachbuilders with complete US vehicles, which were initially retrofitted, which involved a lot of work. The situation later improved, and from 1964 Chapron received chassis from Citroën that were only complete down to the windscreen.
The convertibles are an expression of elegance and extravagance, Citroën sells them worldwide. Although they are called factory convertibles, Chapron fulfills almost every personal wish of the customer. Today they are still in demand, expressive design is timeless, the DS Décapotable (Cabriolet) has become a high-priced classic.
1967 Citroën DS21 Decapotable
A convertible from 1967, which represents the dream of open-top driving, is currently being sold by Car & Classic auctioned. Its history is typical of many DS21 Décapotables. It was originally delivered to North America, like a number of other open DS.
Brought back to Europe in the early 2000s, its current owner acquired the DS in 2015.
He invested in the works cabriolet, apparently without considering the costs involved. In 2016 the engine was overhauled, in 2022 work was done on the bodywork, the DS was repainted. Both doors, which had already been "wrongly" swapped, were upgraded to the Chapron design. Most of the work has been completely documented, and there are extensive photos and documents.
As a result, the cabriolet is beautiful, it is rust-free, its technology is like new and only small traces show its use. The interior has also been revised over the years, when is not documented, and in principle the factory convertible with its beige leather is close to the new car.
The high-priced dream of open-top driving
The collector status is definitely given, because the DS21 is the facelift model that came on the market in 1961 after the DS19. With the larger engine and many changes, the change from hydropneumatics to green fluid, it is considered particularly desirable.
The example offered has the fantastic Jaeger clock collection in the cockpit as found in high priced vehicles. Edison's radio is contemporary, and it begs the question of what the DS21 Décapotable could be worth.
In Germany, six-digit prices for works cabriolets are now something of a habit. The Auction the DS21 Décapotable is going briskly, and it's quite certain that the €100.000 mark will also be exceeded here.
With images from Car & Classic
My dream car, always. But not every dream has to come true….
And be careful, as with many highly sought-after cars, RS, GTI, GSR, etc., there are also many fakes here.
... and the current bid is already at 110.000 🙂
For me, the DS Décapotable is one of the most beautiful things that have ever been put on four wheels. And if I actually see them in everyday life, for which the chances in Austria are particularly bad, then the day is saved 😉 The last time was a few years ago; there was a small convoy of goddesses, including a decapotable, on the Autobahn.
A magnificent car from a glorious era. Unfortunately, selling all Saabs and increasing the mortgage is not an alternative either.
Just beautiful.
Never in my life have I been in a car (including getting married in a very nice old Bentley) that I wouldn't trade for this one without batting an eyelid.
Berlin is full of AMG and Brabus downtown, all (matt) black. They don't cost less protection money, black money or drug money. If the clientele had more taste, they would be much more sympathetic to the green loft residents - even on bike paths and parking in the 2nd row. The city would be much nicer with more classics...
But driving bans threaten. It's the fault of the clan criminals themselves.
I'm worried that the clientele will then move to the outskirts. For such guys, they are closer than switching from a Brabus G-Class to a cargo bike. But that doesn't matter to the green loft residents. Then they have their green Disneyland and a bit of parsley on the roof terrace gives the good feeling of self-sufficiency. Tons of CO2 and packaging material are saved - in an ideal world, in Disneyland without Brabus.
I digress. A wonderful car. Simply too beautiful to pin down the conflict between the inner and outer districts. I'm amazed that it still works and is somehow plausible. Crazy world …
So much aesthetics is too much for today. We only drive square, big black boxes and bow to the dictates of the crowd. Aesthetics were yesterday and we're getting what we obviously deserve.
Yes, your comment totally off topic :-), but I still had a lot of fun with Volvaab's pointed summary of the inner-city confrontation of the matt black clan cars with the green cargo bikes - not to forget, including the danger I was completely unaware of to date the move of the pimps & Co. to the outskirts (would that be so much worse for the people there than for the people in the city? ;-)) Simply delicious!
We also share the aversion to matt cars - which a certain clientele seems to find deadly chic. I just find them ugly as hell. I guess I'm just getting old...
Of course, it's not fundamentally worse for people on the edge of town than for people in the city center. And I even find it funny when clan criminals are given the choice of driving cargo bikes instead of Brabus or just moving...
But it is also somewhat cheap for the, in both senses of the word, bio-Germans to react to inner-city conflicts with repression mechanisms ...
In their newly conquered territory (the outskirts), the “expelled” show an aggressiveness and social intolerance that I (up until 10 years ago myself an inner-city dweller) have never observed before. No wonder. New territory, new fight...
Two examples (own experience):
Stop (don't park!) in front of the driveway of a family home to let a child out. Immediately the front door flies open and two people come out and insult me. A misunderstanding, I think, get out, want to calm things down. I assure you in a friendly manner that I only let my child get out for a moment and would actually be gone by now... De-escalation?
Not even close. It doesn't matter. I wouldn't have lost anything in front of her house and property (public road land) and probably neither myself nor a driver's license, was antisocial and uneducated, not even worth getting my face polished...
Then they disappeared back into the house, leaving me speechless and helpless. And I idiot had thought they were just about to leave in a hurry, maybe had some good reason unknown to me to be so hard on me at that moment?
But that was actually completely without reason!
Secondly, a car that has to give way races towards me in a 30 zone. Narrow small street and I am on the right curb, my lane free. He has plenty of opportunity to pull over to the right (driveways, parking spaces, estuaries), brakes sharply and at the last moment in front of me and makes the top dog. I should drive my junk box (my beloved 9-5 SC) out of the way. Otherwise he would get out...
I had 2 kids in the car who were supposed to get to school on time and not see any violence in the morning. So I sheepishly back left, against the direction of travel and StVO into a gap, so as not to irritate the new, lawless top dog in the suburbs.
I'm still looking forward to car-free inner cities. Maybe then the suburbs will be multiculturally and culinary upgraded? At the moment I don't see any positive effects. The Brabus, the Lude and the conflicts are already there, the sometimes very good and inexpensive food from all over the world remains for the time being a privilege of the inner-city and doubly organic German loft residents ...
Thank you very much for this wonderful unique documentary.
I agree. What a dream of a convertible!