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By the end of the Sixties,
Citroën had recovered from the problems that had beset it
since the death of its founder. 30% of all new car sales in
France were Citroëns - some one and a quarter million cars
annually.
To capitalise on its
position as a market leader, the company decided to build a
true flagship, not just for Citroën but also for France - a
showcase for the new found optimism, the kind of vehicle that
André Citroën had enviseaged with the 22CV
Traction , a Grande Routière in the tradition of the
great French pre-War marques such as Panhard
, Bugatti, Delahaye, and Delage. With the demise of the Facel
Vega, France had no prestigious vehicles to compete with the
likes of Mercedes and Jaguar.
The DS
Sport or Projet S was the starting point for this
project. Although very good performance had been extracted
from Citroën's venerable four cylinder, it was felt that the
new car should employ a six cylinder powerplant. Thanks to the
French fiscal system, cars with engine capacities in excess of
2,8 litres were heavily penalised. The design of such an
engine, lightweight, powerful and with relatively small
displacement was not within Citroën's capabilities.
Fortunately, the solution was found when Citroën signed the
PARDEVI accord whereby Fiat took over Michelin's 49% stake in
Citroën and acquired Maserati from Orsi on 25 October 1968.
Signor Dottore Alfieri
removed two cylinders from the legendary 4 146 cm3 Maserati
Indy V 8 and reduced the bore and stroke to achieve a 2,670
cm3 V 6.
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