heard of ZIL limousines for the first time in the early 1980s when I read an edition of the Guinness Book of World Records and discovered that a ZIL was listed as the largest car in the world (a record that it held for a long time). The car could sit 7 people.
Check Lag cabs, they can sit up to 14 people at a go
I know, I know, this car should not be in this list. The Citroen DS was very popular in Nigeria in the 1960s, ‘70s and early 1980s, so it is not a car that is unheard of in Nigeria. However, I saw a thread on the home page of Nairaland and the thread creator claimed that Citroen cars are not popular in Nigeria and that they are not known in Nigeria. That was a shock to me. So I guess that this car is unheard of to younger generation of Nigerians. That’s why it is a bonus on this list.
The Citroen DS was an iconic and record breaking car that was produced in sedan, station wagon, coupe, convertible and limousine body configurations from 1955-1975. It was very popular in Nigeria because it was the perfect car to show off with, due to its many unusual technological features. It was nicknamed the “Goddess” because “DS" is pronounced in French as "Déesse" (goddess).
Hydro-pneumatic system
The most important technological feature of the car, to Nigerians, was the fact that the driver could lower or increase the height of the car. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights: normal riding height, two slightly higher riding heights for poor terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. Nigerians loved lowering and increasing the height of the car, especially where there were other people to see you do it.
This ability to lower and increase the height of the car was due to the novel hydro-pneumatic suspension including an automatic levelling system and variable ground clearance, developed in-house by Paul Magès. Basically, this also meant that the Citroen DS was designed to be level, no matter the condition of the road. The car could go into potholes and over bumps and yet it would still be level. This was because the roads in France were pretty bad after the Second World War and so the car was designed to provide excellent ride quality, despite the condition of the roads.
At rest, Citroën DS will slowly sink to the ground as the engine-driven hydraulic system is depressurized.
In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering. In the DS they were also used for the suspension, clutch and transmission.
At a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all wheels, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide a self-levelling system was an innovative move. This suspension allowed the car to achieve sharp handling combined with very high ride quality, frequently compared to a "magic carpet".
The Safari version saw use as a camera car, notably by the BBC. The hydro-pneumatic suspension produces an unusually steady platform for filming while driving.
The DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre, one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost setting. The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready to be changed.
The DS system, while impressive to use, sometimes dropped the car quite suddenly, especially if the stand was not placed precisely or the ground was soft or unlevel.
Assassination attempt on President Charles de Gaulle
The Citroen DS was, of course, the official car of the President of France, General Charles de Gaulle and many people believe that it played a part in saving the general’s life during an assassination attempt.
Algeria was a colony of France and the French had the view that their colonies were actually part of France. However, the Algerians had begun a bloody war for independence and, in 1962, President de Gaulle decided to grant Algeria independence.
This did not go down well with some French people who felt that Algeria should always be part of France. They felt that de Gaulle was betraying France by granting independence to Algeria. The French militant group, OAS, which had a lot of former military officers in its ranks, decided to kill de Gaulle for granting independence to Algeria.
De Gaulle and his wife were being driven from the Elysee Palace to Orly Airport in Paris when 12 OAS gunmen opened fire on the presidential Citroën DS. As History tells it, “A hail of 140 bullets, most of them coming from behind, killed two of the president’s motorcycle bodyguards, shattered the car’s rear window and punctured all four of its tires.” Other reports said the bullets blew out two or three tires instead.
At any rate, the DS was way too high tech to get shut down by something as simple as gunfire. While it went into a skid at first, the car’s suspension kept it level and drivable, even without the aid of tires. De Gaulle’s driver managed to escape the situation, and the president and his wife made it to the airport unharmed. This attempted killing was dramatized in the film “The Day of the Jackal.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp0yPa0zcKw Dramatization of the assassination attempt on President De Gaulle in the 1973 epic movie “The Day Of The Jackal” (adapted from Frederick Forsyth’s classic book)
The DS’ role in thwarting the attempt on his life made De Gaulle love the car even more. He refused to travel in anything else. And in 1969, when Fiat sought to take a troubled Citroën over in 1969, De Gaulle limited their stake to 15 percent. Citroën would end up staying in French hands as part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.
British Pathe’s news broadcast from 1961 about the assassination attempt
Another amazing feature on the Citroen DS was the fact that the headlights could swivel. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy (two headlights on the left and two headlights on the right) and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. The lights turned left if you turned the steering wheel to the left and they turned right if you turned the steering wheel to the right. This allowed the driver to see "around" turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night. The directional headlamps were linked to the wheels by cable.
Behind each glass cover lens, the inboard high-beam headlamp swivels by up to 80° as the driver steers, throwing the beam along the driver's intended path rather than uselessly across the curved road. The outboard low-beam headlamps are self-levelling in response to pitching caused by acceleration and braking.
However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time, so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.
Awards and records
Development of the Citroen DS began in 1937, but then Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, so Citroën chairman Pierre-Jules Boulanger told his engineers to hide their designs and prototype cars from the Germans for fear that they would weaponize them. Citroen were developing two ground breaking cars at this time, the DS and the 2CV (The 2CV was one of the most popular small cars in Europe in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s and it competed with the Volkswagen Beetle).
After 18 years of secret development as the successor to the Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000. During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that stood for over 60 years, until it was eclipsed by the Tesla Model 3 which received 180,000 first day deposits in March 2016.
The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition (recognizing the world's most influential auto designs), and fifth on Automobile Magazine's "100 Coolest Cars" listing in 2005. It was also named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a poll of 20 world-renowned car designers, including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ian Callum, Roy Axe, Paul Bracq, and Leonardo Fioravanti.
Noted for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design and innovative technology, the DS set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking and was the first production car equipped with disc brakes.
Replacements
French car makers, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen have all made executive cars since 1975, but none has reached the iconic status of the Citroen DS. Citroen has produced the CX, XM and C6, Peugeot has produced the 604, 605 and 607, while Renault has produced the 25, Safrane and Vel Satis, but none of these cars has been nearly as popular as the Citroen DS. In fact, the three French companies have given up on the executive segment (e.g. Peugeot did not produce a replacement for the 607).
In 2009, Groupe PSA created a new brand - DS Automobiles, intended as high quality, high specification variations on existing models, with differing mechanics and bodywork. This brand ranges across four models, the DS3, DS4, DS5, and the China-only SUV DS 6. The DS3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroën's new C3, but is more customisable and unique, bearing some resemblance to the original DS, with its "Shark Fin" side pillar. These have created their own niches, with the DS4 being a mix of a crossover and a coupe and the DS5 mixing a coupe and an estate. Many feature hybrid-diesel engines to maximise efficiency. However, I do not believe that any of these cars will be nearly as prestigious and popular as the original iconic Citroen DS.
that citroen is the bomb, nigerians don't know how to be a car collector, I remembered while growing up I do see peugeot 404 classics, but then it was turning to old school people now sell dem as scraps to owode onirin, they opt for 505 GLE, 504 CE, same as mercedes benz 200 post world war 2 edition, I saw most of it then nigeria, but they are no where to be found anymore. this citroen will worth a fortune now.
Because the indigenous local company that produces automobiles in the Country is from the East.
And the people of the East planned & orchestrated the first military coup responsible for Nigeria's present predicament by sparing their own leaders from East while killing off the leaders from the North & West.
It did not end there, the peope from the East are always labeling the rest of the people from the West & the North unprintable & derogatory names such as Afonja, Ewedu & Amala people, Ofe Manu, Ewu Hausa, Ewu Terrorists, Terrorist Allah & Paedophile prophet.
As such, the people from the West & the North - who have tightened & solidified their grip on power view & treat the people from the East as their common enemy.
And so they agreed that, enriching your enemy by patronizing & buying his products is self-defeating & tantamount to setting their own houses ablaze should in case war breaks between them in the foreseeable future.
MunorAnne: If the Zil Limo can be in Guiness books for being able to sit 7 people, then why can't our Audi taxis? I mean they achieve the same feat any ways.
1) It wasn't in the Guinness Book of records merely because it could sit 7 people, but because of its size.
2) It was officially designed to sit 7 people, but, unnofficially, it could sit more than 7 people.
Naptu thanks for your time making this informative.
What is that thing that looked like a duck? . You said we drove that in Nigeria, when? Maybe in the creeks. After Ijaw chiefs finish ogogoro they push it into the creek and sail around in.
No mined me i love Ijaw girls.
Anyway, does Dino Melaye know about these cars? You might want to share this page with him bro.
^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ Massive History... very informative! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for bringing back the memory of yesteryears. Seeing this Citroen reminded me of early 1980s( 1980 or 1981 or thereabout) that I went with my dad to Murtala Muhammed Airport for site seeing and when coming back, through Ikeja,somewhere around the Awolowo way in Ikeja, that I saw this red glittering car that drew my innocent young boy's attention because of the design . Immediately I got closer to the car,I touched it and my dad drew me backward and asked me if I liked the car and so did I nodded my head to it . My father was the one who told me the car's name as Citroen and the name registered in my memory,ever since then. In the early 1980s, classy men drove the car which was different from the regular 504 Peugeot that is seen easily ,those yesteryears.
Olu317: Thanks for bringing back the memory of yesteryears. Seeing this Citroen reminded me of early 1980s( 1980 or 1981 or thereabout) that I went with my dad to Murtala Muhammed Airport for site seeing and when coming back, through Ikeja,somewhere around the Awolowo way in Ikeja, that I saw this red glittering car that drew my innocent young boy's attention because of the design . Immediately I got closer to the car,I touched it and my dad drew me backward and asked me if I liked the car and so did I nodded my head to it . My father was the one who told me the car's name as Citroen and the name registered in my memory,ever since then. In the early 1980s, classy men drove the car which was different from the regular 504 Peugeot that is seen easily ,those yesteryears.
Great work you've been doing.
Much Love Bro.
^^^^^ ^^^^^ @Olu317 You're absolutely correct about the FACT that Citroen was used in Nigeria by classy men [men of style] in the 1970s and early 1980s. Seeing a Citroen just gives me instant nostalgia about the 1970s and Kingsway Stores especially.
I remember clearly that Citroen, Range Rover, and Mercedes were the cars used in the 1970s by the middle-upper class in Nigeria - Lagos especially. The Naira was still very strong then, and people travelled by air more frequently within Nigeria and to London via the Nigeria Airways and British Caledonian without batting an eye lid!
Infact on my first trip by air on a Nigeria Airways Airbus A310 from Murtala Muhammed Airport to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire in 1987, there were many French made cars such as Citroen being used in that beautiful and well-planned West African country.
Christopher Akhigbe Omeben [who is an ex-Deputy Inspector-General of Police who investigated the murder of renowned journalist, Dele Giwa via the letter bomb blast which occurred on October 19, 1986], said he started using his "first brand new Citroen" in Nigeria in the late 1960s while he was in his late 20s, and the car was more expensive than other cars in existence in the 1960s. He said this in an interview he granted to a radio station [Radio Continental - now Max FM in Lagos with 'Tokunbo Ojebiyi].
Citroen is still a strong brand in people's memories!
===> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën Citroën (is a French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group since 1976, founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën (1878–1935).
This is most definitely one of the most informative threads I've read on NL. I look forward to the day we Africans particularly Nigerians can embrace knowledge.... Just imagine such detailed dissection of the subject having only 2 pages and not even seeing the light of the front page!.... We obviously know whats wrong with us as a people.... God bless Nigeria(ns)
