Citroen DS20, DS21 and DS23 (1966 – 1975) Review

Since the day it was launched, the Citroen DS had been crying out for more power, and certainly it deserved better engines than those which had been used in the Traction Avant before WW2. From 1965, it started to get them, with the Citroën DS21 being launched in 1966 with a 2175cc engine of 109bhp.

After the very successful restyle of the vehicle in 1967 to incorporate the sharknose front-end – with swivelling headlamps and faired-in headlamps – the DS19 was replaced by the DS20 (1985cc and 90bhp). But it was in the 1970s that the DS reached its peak, with a 2347cc unit dropped in to create the DS23. In fuel injected form, this pumped out 141bhp. At last the performance matched the appearance.Amazingly, this engine carriied on in the CX and lived on well into the 1980s.