Citroen DS 21 Pallas Driving

Come along for a ride in a 1969 Citroen DS 21 Pallas!

[@citroenfan8930]

Nice overview. Of all of the Cits I have owned including an XM my two favorites are my 72 DS21 Pallas BVH and our 85 2CV :).

[@oliverw3646]

Long ago I had a '66 DS21 Pallas and absolutely loved the semi-automatic shifter

[@mohamedinox5437]

DS avec le meilleure Tableaux de bord sortie an 69 magnifique 👍

[@meadmaker4525]

I've always wanted one of these. It's not only beautiful, but a marvel of engineering given the time. My only concern is I'm 6'2 and I wonder if I'd have enough room in it. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[@citroenfan8930]

You would not have a problem. Have owned and driving the D's for some 60 years. As to the engineering. A marvel, even by comparison to anything being build today. Steering -absolutely no play. Tap the wheel and one gets reaction at the wheel. Anything hitting the front wheels transmits nothing back through the steering system. Rear brakes get their braking pressure via the rear suspension circuit. More weight in the rear, more pressure available. Hit the brakes hard and as weight transfers forward, braking force decreases. And this was from when the cars were introduced in 1956 :). Suspension automatically adjusts height - add more weight it compensates. A great feature with the Brakes (wagons). One could go on and on - but literally requires a book.

[@1preccp]

Magnific car, beautiful. 👍👏👏👏👏👏

[@wadeeb]

Thank you for the drive. Great viewing angle that allows us to see the shifting. Great job

[@cb4675]

Shifting gears very smoothly!

[@christopherhunter2892]

Like others , this dash is my favourite. Suits the car more than the universal dash that followed. I bought a DS21 aged 18.. Magnificent car and so easy to drive. The only thing I did not like was the parking brake( mine was a manuel ). I would like to drive one now to compare it to modern day cars.

[@jourwalis-8875]

What an amazing dashboard! Only available in the 1969 year model!

[@jonathasfigaro4992]

So modern ❤

[@karhukallio]

What an angel !

[@henridornancourt9786]

For me, DS 21 has THE real DS sound, much more than a 23 or a 20. Don't know why, but I feel that way ;-)

[@MentaClassics]

Lovely to see!

[@p.r.e.p.p.y_vlogs_5313]

Beautiful car but I am glad that they have improved the gear shifter as it seems quite annoying to always grab over the steering wheel

[@jourwalis-8875]

"Canadian spec rear ventilation heater". Not bad!

[@chrisperyagh]

My CX 25 GTi Turbo 2's steering wheel also made 'whoosh' noises - a friend said it made 'Darth Vader noises'. Although that had the fantastic DIRAVI steering which would power back to centre if you let go of the wheel if it was turned (only 1 and a half turns from lock to lock on that car). And all this happened in a time when all these features and systems were purely mechanical instead of being computer controlled or assisted. The two DSs in my family were both manual - my D Special (ID19B) was LHD and 4 speed whereas my dad's D Super 5 was RHD and 5 speed manual - the column change meant the gear shift pattern was mirrored which took some getting used to on the RHD version.

[@jourwalis-8875]

Thanks for the drive! Next time I would like to see more of the exterior and also of the Canadian spec rear seat heater! Why didn´t we have that heater in Sweden? We have the same cold winters here as in Canada!

[@user-fz8ep5ey4v]

You can also drive it on three wheels or with a couple of tyres shot out .

[@Charles06051969]

A very lovely car. What do you say about that very low mirrow ? Is it really effective? I consider it was a mistake because your right shoulder must cover the vew.

[@carloscosta253]

Great looking car. It's indeed a fenomenal example of how timeless these machines are... Bought myself one (1969 ds 21 pallas, like yours) a few weeks ago, which has been parked for a couple of years and suffered some cable corrosion due to it. Right now I'm repairing it and hoping will finally drive in a few days from now. Have a couple o questions: couldn't find any place to fit the radio speakers (it didn't have a radio installed, as far as I can see, it never did). Can you please point me to the speakers so I know the best solution to fit them? Looking forward to see how the citromatic works... was looking for a 5speed manual, but this was the best deal I found...

[@jourwalis-8875]

There is a place for a speaker in the rear hat shelf

[@CitroenDS23]

How did you get on Carlo?

[@bikdav]

Do have to push a clutch in to upshift (or downshift for that matter)? I know very little about Citroen.

[@normandiebryant6989]

No. His car had the standard Hydraulic Gearchange. It is a standard 4-speed gearbox and clutch but with hydraulic control. You move the lever and hydraulics operate the clutch, release the old gear, push in the new (gently at first until synchronised, then full pressure), then re-engages the clutch. You have to release the throttle a bit or the change will be delayed for a few seconds until you do or it will start to push the accelerator pedal back up. A fully-manual gearchange was a lower-cost option.

[@bikdav]

@@normandiebryant6989 Wow! That sounds innovative on Citroen's part.

[@jourwalis-8875]

The picture quality gets real bad when you drive, and the camera is subjected to vibrations. Despite the 720p specifications.

[@jourwalis-8875]

You drive too fast, but of course the DS handles beautifully!

[@almaximo4065]

how do you honk?

[@MentaClassics]

There is a lever on the left to turn signal. If you pull it towards yourself the car honks!

[@goodfodder]

thought it was a button under the seat on that model year 😊

[@bobhenry6159]

Citroen was great in many ways, plain dumb in others. One example is how they cleverly designed the steering wheel to give you an unobstructed view, then they put the shifter in the dumbest place and ruin the view with hand and stick. Why?

[@peterfitton4529]

Fair point, but it was changed to a different position, by the side of the wheel, on later DS's.

[@christopherhunter2892]

The manual shift was column mounted .

[@normandiebryant6989]

Most people just use their finger-tips to flick the lever while still holding the wheel. I've never seen anyone reach over with their full hand like this.

[@bobhenry6159]

@@normandiebryant6989 While holding the wheel 10 and 4? They must have very long fingers. lol Citroen changed the lever position for later models. Nuff said.

[@presspound7358]

@@bobhenry6159Got a great laugh out of that one.

[@MP-hi3og]

That gear selector is really uncomfortable !!!

[@alunhoskins4513]

You very quickly get used to it. Absolutely no problem😃

[@bikdav]

@@alunhoskins4513I like how the shifter is somewhat sequential (according to the video).

[@citroenfan8930]

Have to drive one to appreciate. Actually the BVH shifting lever is nicely placed. Can shift without ever taking one's hand off of the steering wheel.