Behind me, sitting in the big sofa of a back seat, I have passengers. They’re the ghosts of the DS’s creators, but the apparition doesn’t feel sinister. They are surely delighted, finally satisfied that after all these years this is exactly the DS they would have built were they able.
It’s beyond argument that the DS is one of the most beautiful cars ever. But also for its era the most advanced, both stylistically and technically. During its Paris show appearance, Citroen took 80,000 deposits, a record unbeaten until Tesla’s Model 3. Right from its 1955 debut it had high-pressure hydraulics for the self-levelling suspension, steering and brakes, which had discs mounted inboard to cut unsprung mass. It ran on radial tyres.
The monocoque body had demountable panels and a lightweight glass fibre roof. Later, that shark nose got faired-in headlamps that steer around corners.
But none of that is what we’re here to talk about. Because missing from that list of advances is the propulsion. The DS was meant to have a new flat-six. But Citroen ran out of money, so it inherited the boring pushrod four from the older Traction Avant.
So it makes perfect sense to replace that with the electric drive as Oxfordshire converter Electrogenic has done. You might think other electromods – perhaps evicting a wonderful Jaguar XK engine or a Porsche flat-six – are sacrilege, but surely you can surely get behind a transplant that gets rid of an engine the car’s creators never wanted. Or do you fear an electric drivetrain will subtract from the complex engagement of driving a classic? Carburetted engines cough and splutter; old gearboxes have weak synchro. Negotiating that lot takes skill. Wouldn’t a one-gear electro mod be duller?
Esta historia es de la edición July 2022 de Top Gear.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 2022 de Top Gear.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
INEOS GRENADIER
\"It looks like it could batter its way through anything\"
The 1,000bhp P1 drift car is finished (on the outside] and doesn't it look sensational?
WHAT IS IT? A McLaren racecar carbon tub clothed in P1 GTR panels with the full drift car treatment. Consider us well and truly intrigued
HEAD TO HEAD SUPER SALOONS
This should just be your usual, regular, ultra fast, four door battle. But after what AMG has done to one of our very favourite speed machines, it's anything but. It's AMG C63 vs Alfa QF...
REAR OF THE YEAR
What happens when you cross Zagato with Alpine? An A110 that can change its clothes...
SAVE THE WHALES
Since a Californian startup began reimagining 15 years ago, the popularity of restomod Porsches has exploded. Does Singer still do it best? We'll let its latest-turbocharged - creation answer that one...
...sell on Monday
Driving to Pikes Peak in Ford's Mustang Mach-E Rally on the path least trodden, arriving in time to see its F-150 SuperTruck take on the hillclimb. What could go wrong?
GO WITH THE FLOW
The most aerodynamic car Audi has ever made... is a great big executive barge. And when the smoke clears, you'll see it's been a long time coming...
SCRAMBLED SEGG
The Koenigsegg Chimera is a one-off mashup of Agera RS, Jesko and, CC850 - potent, but what exactly is the point?
SIMPLIFLY AND ADD LIGHTNESS
At the peak of Lotus's powers, boss Colin Chapman bought himself the coolest aircraft in motorsport history... 45 years later, TopGear's on a mission to find it again
CANNON BULL
Adrian Newey's RB17 hybrid V10 hypercar is at long last (almost) ready Track car, perfection or pointless?