1963 – Citroën DS 19 Cabriolet

1963 – Citroën DS 19 Cabriolet
Rare manual gearbox version
Citroën Heritage Certificate
4 previous owners, all from around Lyon

French registration papers
Chassis number: 4400036
Body number: 013 000510

I ntroduced in 1955, the styling of the DS was a great inspiration for the coachbuilder Henri Chapron: three years later, he offered his sublime rendition of it in the form of a convertible. Won over by his proposal, Citroën added the convertible to its range from 1960, but continued to entrust the actual building of the model to the coachbuilder in Levallois-Perret. Until 1971, they were known as ‘factory convertibles’. In October 1960, the press lavished praise on the model: Le Figaro ran the headline “A startling innovation: a convertible with especially pure lines”, while Paris-Presse added: “A feast for the eyes”. Carrying over all the technological innovations of the saloon, for many years no other European convertible could rival the beauty or the comfort of the DS| the superiority of Citroën’s hydropneumatic suspension, far ahead of its time, was confirmed by its continued use into the 21st century. In all, just 1365 ‘factory convertibles’, based on the DS 19 and DS 21, were built from 1960 to 1971. The DS cabriolet which we are offering for sale is a ‘factory convertible’ from 1963, fitted with the rare manual gearbox corresponding to the DS 19M series, as the Citroën Heritage Certificate included in the documentation with the car confirms. Its clear history file enabled us to trace its four previous owners, all of whom lived in the area around Lyon. The car was delivered new on 5 April 1963 to Jacky Farine, the manager of Fernand Raynaud better known as Jacky Yfar, and was used to follow the artists which the agency run by Genevoise Yfar looked after. It was then sold in 1977 to its second owner, a member of the Touring Club de France, who treasured it for eight years. At this point, two brothers who were fans of rare C