The DS' peers in 1956

It is easy to forget precisely how far ahead of its time the DS was when it went on sale in 1955.

With a four cylinder engine of 1 911 cm3 offering 75 bhp and a top speed of 145 kph - the DS looked and drove like nothing else and twenty years later was still ahead of the game.

Its contemporaries invariaby had rear wheel drive, live rear axles, drum brakes and all the aerodynamics of a house brick.  They all look terribly old-fashioned compared with the DS.

In Italy, the DS was up against the Lancia Aurelia with a V6 engine of 2 266cm3 capacity offering 87 bhp and a top speed of 150 kph

In Germany, the Mercedes 190 was the obvious competition with its four cylinder 1 897cm3 engine developing 55 bhp and with a top speed of 120 kph

In Britain, the sporty MG Magnette may only have had a four cylinder 1 489cm3 engine but it produced 61 bhp and had a top speed of 130 kph

More prosaic machinery was on offer from Morris in the guise of the Isis which was powered by a six cylinder 2 639cm3 engine that developed 86 bhp and had a top speed of 140 kph

In Germany, General Motors offered the American-influenced Opel Kapitan with a six cylinder 2 473cm3 engine with 82 bhp and a top speed of 140 kph

In Britain, the Riley Pathfinder was equipped with a four cylinder engine of 2 443cm3 capacity developing 103 bhp and with a top speed of 155 kph

The Rover 60 from Britain had a four cylinder 1 997cm3 engine offering 61 bhp and a top speed of 120 kph

The Standard Vanguard from Britain was fitted with with a four cylinder 2 088cm3 engine producing 68 bhp and a top speed of 130 kph

The British Sunbeam 90 had a four cylinder 2 267cm3 engine producing 80 bhp and a top speed of 140 kph

General Motors in Britain offered the Vauxhall Velox with a four cylinder 2 262cm3 engine producing 68 bhp and a top speed of 142 kph