1964 Citroen ID19 DS Safari - an Iconic Avant-garde French Family Wagon | Collecting Cars
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Pack your bags, sling the tent on the roof and head off on a road trip in style. The Citroen ID19 DS Safari is a near perfect wagon to escape to the countryside in. With its large roof rack and huge rear boot complete with two additional seats, it’s both practical and supremely comfortable for long trips with the family or a group of pals.
Its clever Hydro pneumatic suspension helps you float over pot holed B-roads and when terrain demands it, the whole car can be raised or lowered using a simple lever.
This 1964 Citroen ID 19 Safari is a charming and well-preserved example of the iconic avant-garde French family wagon. Under the bonnet is a 1.9-litre inline-four engine coupled to a four-speed manual transmission with column shift.
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View this 1964 Citroen ID19 DS Safari auction on Collecting Cars (Ends Sunday 27th June from 7pm BST) - collectingcars...
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I took my Safari to Southern Italy in the late 60's... 4 people, all our luggage + a fridge on the roof rack... heavy snow on the motorway, but still safe to drive at 50-60.
It wasn't until I pulled in to fill up that I realised that we had had a puncture as there was nothing left of the offside rear tire... another Citroën quirk.
I also owned a 1957 DS19 that had been used by DeGaulle... great being able to stand up in the back and wave at the crowds!
These days I have a Citroën SM... like riding a magic carpet with a Formula 1 engine, and, like DS becoming "Déesse", SM becomes "Sa Majesté".
Oh ! La belle formule, " Déesse, SM, qui sevient sa majesté" je la retiendrais ! ;-)
This is the car that I've always wanted - always. The Safari is exactly what I've always wanted - tour North America in it, grace everywhere with its presence.
Good luck!
The most beautiful French car ever built. And even by todays standards, one of the most practical.
Its onee of , if not the , most beautiful cars . Full stop .
Not really: Delage, Talbot-Lago, Delahaye, Bugatti.
@@wholeNwon I think really
@@ApothecaryGrant Though not especially this model, I've long been a fan of the DS, including the convertible. Used to use one several times a week as a grad student.
@@wholeNwon and ?
One of my most cherished unique Citroen experiences was as a passenger of the rear most jump seat (plenty for my 5 ft 11 in frame), with the Taylor family in their 1969 DS21 Safari thundering through the night on a dirt road at 75 mph, with 7 on board plus camping gear of the roof rack, moonless starry night, west of the Blue Mountains, with dust billowing up behind in the tail light hue and turning headlights probing the darkness way up front.
A remarkable magic steed...
Indeed........The safest car in the world!
It is beautiful !
You used to see quite a few of those on French roads back in the 70s, mainly as ambulances
Its the kind of car that encourages laid back cruising in the days before everyone needed cars with 500HP and Nurburgring tuned suspension :)
Poetic that the robotic lawnmower was in the background as the DS started its journey. Futuristic all around!
A remarkable machine. A family friend had one. My brother and I (very young) used to ride in the jump seats. I could fold them out and back again when I was still on short trousers. Lovely memories....
And the double rear number plate.... So that one is visible whether the tailgate is dropped or shut.
There is not a panel on this car that is not somehow remarkable....
No visible sills below the doors. There are sills, but the doors come down over them.
The extraordinary hinge mechanism of the glass tailgate. The gorgeous front valance, invisible in daily life.... a feature that lived on in the CX.
This car was an adventure.
And so spacious....
Terrible engines, even the 21 and 23 were not great..... The 19 was a gasping clinker..... But who cares? It did 70mph/120kmh very comfortably, even heavily loaded.
Careful with the French pronunciation..... It is Déesse, not Diesse. And the ID is pronounced "Idée", which means Idea. Funny guys at Citroën.... Ha ha ha
To have a wagon such as this in your childhood memories is amazing!!!
I can only imagine the color, but with such a gorgeous design, any color would look royal!
*I drive a '63 nova wagon, the smells of that car bring me right back to riding in family wagons :)
Cheers to those cars for being more than just a car, part of the family~
I miss resting my arm and elbow out the window. Use to be very comfortable. I use to think these were UGLY as they came. I grew a huge appreciation over the years for what this car is about.
A fantastic assessment of an iconic car
They don't make cars like this anymore, especially family cars and two extra holding beats. Genious!
I’ve never thought any ds ugly! I’ve owned one and would love to own another, actually they were quite well received in UK. Thanks for memory
💚 DS --> déesse ... first time I hear about that!
In The Netherlands we call it the "Snoek" or pike. You can see why if you know your fish!
I never had the honor of driving one myself {although I have driven a CX, which is close) but as a passenger this car was by far the most comfortable and luxurious I have ever been in.
And the innovation for that time was incredible.
Pardon my French...
I’ve always loved cars but I’ve never seen a Safari version of this iconic car. Love it !
Adored seeing the automated lawnmower as you take off, what a contrast!
Yes the DS is more high tech
Wonderful review of a wonderful car. For me, there's something a bit magical about the DS. Found it very interesting that the DS's first day deposits were only exceeded by the Model 3's - in a way, the M3 is a DS for the 21st century, in that it's so advanced as to be utterly revolutionary.
Three of my top ten " Car Bucket List " cars are Citroens . THE TRACTION AVANT , DEUX CHEVAUX , AND THE DIESSE .
Tim...Could you also include my Citroen Mehari which i keep in Provence for my annual cycing trips from Australia? Simply extraordinary.
Les Griffiths
Whst s besutiful car even today. And with engineering that still performs. I love it!
Love the auto lawn mower at 11:18 ;-)
So tiny for such a huge lawn. Must work night and day.
Great video of an amazing vehicle. My brother owned one briefly in the 1980s, it was huge and came with features now promoted as modern on contemporary cars such as headlamps which turned with the steering.
Great video with excellent images of a well-kept Citroen. I tried to convince my father to buy one in 1970, but he chose a D Special instead. They were selling for $4000 in the U.S. in 1970, but were the French version with cloth seats and a revamped dashboard.
I saw photos of the DS19 when it first debuted. I was ten at the time and my first thought was that it had all the wit and charm of an angry clam. Years later when in Paris, I saw these cars on the street. I remarked to my companion how right I was back in 1954.
Beautiful. The DS did sell here (Australia), but probably not in large numbers, although I do remember seeing them on the road in the 70s and 80s. It must have been very interesting trying to have them serviced if you lived anywhere outside of larger cities. Good luck getting your local Holden dealer to fathom the high pressure hydraulics! They say that when you approach the end of your life that it's the things you didn't do that people regret. Not having bought a Citroen DS before they achieved collectible status and absurd prices will be one of my regrets.
One of those you saw was probably my family's car.....they were great for Australia with superb ride and stability.....servicing was not suited to Aussie mechanics however....You had to have a passion for them and be practical enough to do it yourself or find a very expensive specialist in the inner suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne. When cars came out with air conditioning it made the DS less suitable to Australia because few had an Air conditioning system installed....back in the day you would also have to put up with Aussies laughing at you and saying what a ugly car you have. I miss the DS every day as I bump up and down in my modern car....
Hear in my part of the world they were Always expensive.
@@worldtraveler930 You "travel the world" so you should have moved perhaps....haha
Well, I DID buy a DS -- actually a D-Special, a sort of base model version of the DS -- a ten-year-old car when I came upon it in Vancouver, Canada in 1980. I was around 30 at the time and not especially flush with cash. Even though the first owner had taken good care of it, and there was an honest Citroën-specialty service shop for future maintenance, the car nickel-and-dimed me to death for a couple of years before I gave up and sold it.
Having grown up with DS sedans, I was well aware what wonderful cars they were. But my Dad's succession of DS and Pallas models were purchased new and kept no longer than a year. A decade-old DS teaches you pretty quickly that these cars were not built to last. A lot of hard plastic is used on the interior. In Canadian winters the salt rusted them put in a couple of years. And these complex cars required skilled maintenance and a lot of it.
That said, the car never stranded me. A friend and I did a huge loop of the western and central U.S. states in great comfort and efficiency. This big sedan got 30 mpg on its antiquated engine, a tribute to the car's aerodynamics. In all I don't regret having owned it. But I would caution anyone contemplating a '70s-era DS today is going to need deep pockets and alternative transportation.
I first saw one in the very early 1960s ina small country town in the Midlands of Tasmania, Australia. Was a 5 or 6 year old then and came from a family of Buick owners. One Sunday morning I walked out of the Anglican church and parked there was a new Citroen DS3. An amazing car amongst a few boring Holdens and Fords. Walked over to it and studied every curve and design element and then a woman, wife of a wealthy merino sheep farmer, friends of my parents, said hello Rod, replied hello Mrs Burbury. She asked me if I liked that car and I replied it is like a spaceship and yes I like it very much. I suddenly realised and asked her if it was her car, it was. She then asked me if I would like a lift home and of course I replied in the affirmative. What a car. Have been a Citroen fan ever since and in 1986 I bought a Citroen ID19 in Adelaide, South Australia, a 1965 model. Many people say they are complex mechanically and people who understands them say they are more simple than many realise, once you overcome the fear of the differences to bland engineering.
Anorak point - It should be noted at 7:32 that Roland's essay refers to the interior design of a French built ds. This appears to be a British ds, which by law necessitated it be made with a certain number of British components, hence the more conventional flat wooden dashboard with round dials. I won't pretend I have any idea what he's going on about for the remainder of the essay, I haven't quite graduated to that level of Citroen nerdism yet.
@Fredrik Larsson I believe so
Yes - in order to get round import duties, this car was assembled in Slough with a certain proportion of UK components, hence the Jaeger gauges and Lucas lighting. My dad bought it in 1965, at one year old (both the car...and me!).
I had an ID19 (briefly) in Seattle in the late '80's, and as an engineer, I loved all the innovative design details. I made the decision to hand it off after finding that retrofitting 3-point seat belts was difficult and expensive, and that the unibody had extensive rust. Still miss it, though.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, just friggin beeeeeeuuuuutttttiiiiifffuuuuuulllll
Biggest mistake I ever made was selling my 1970's DS20/5 back in 1993 due to financial difficulties.... should have sold the house, and lived in the Citroën 😉😘
Made the same mistake when I sold my 1972 DS 20..in 1986...seriously regret that decision
Currently I still own a Citroen cx....but still...it is Not the DS
@@elvistsakane121 DO not sell your cx 😉
@@YOUENNNN yeah..I won't make that mistake again 👍 thanks
@@YOUENNNN where are you based ?
Could see the terror in his eyes as he tried to explain how the hydropneumatic suspension worked! Don't worry mate, you're not the first!
The DS Safari was a supreme beast of burden, so comfortable and fast over vast distances.
Did you know the roof and roof rack set down with knurled rubber is aerodynamic and does not whistle -
I have tried 30 years ago in my 1965 ID 20 safari. No whistle at 90 mph. Throw 2 Canadian canoes on the roof plus 5 on board and camping gear and she makes it so easy.
Love when you squeeze zee champignon brake button at 60 mph in the dirt with your hands off the one spoke wheel and the car squats front and rear, thanks to load proportioning valve to the rear brakes. Even if you have a front wheel blow out. You can drive a DS (pronounced Day eSeee) on high suspension on 3 wheels.
This must be a British safari - wood dash and leather... gilding a French work horse to make in posh for the Poms....
Definitely built in slough.
We miss our 505 Turbo wagon! Lots of room in it also. Thanks for the video. Just subscribed.
gorgeous car,great review!
the perfect antidote to all the 800 bhp carbon nonsense!
whoa there strangulation of DS, the letters and the word sounds like Day-S . Goddess.
My dad worked on an Army base in France and our DS 19 is the car of my first memory. Dad had two successive, 64 and 66, after he totaled the 64 on ice and walked away. Our were semi-automatic, which may be preferable on this model.
Never crossed my mind before, but I bet Steve Jobs was influenced by Citroen.
Nah, Jobs wasn’t a car guy. He drove a boring Mercedes. Now Wozniak on the other hand . . .
When I was a kid in Canada, oldest of six, my Dad had one of these. We’d all fight over who got to sit in the jump seats. The winners would get to make faces at the occupants of following cars.
Dieser Citroen ID19 DS Safari ist ein richtiger Raumwunder und hat eine schöne Innenausstattung würde mir auch gefallen
Magnificent vehicle and quite the delightful video.
"The DS is not the car of the future, nor the car of the past. It is the car of today!"
Just stunning. Just a stunning design. I way prefer it to the saloon. The cleverness is out of this world. It cannot be said that it was decades ahead of itself, simply because it has yet to be matched. It never will be, because we are all forced into SUVs instead. Sadly
Still own the DS 1958 full colour brochure with plastic inlay pages.
And all my Citroen ignition keys.
The DS and CX cars can be compared to the Hasselblad 500 C/M camera.
Everybody wants to be the proud owner.
The Volkswagen drivers with their Nikon cameras are just jealous.
The DS and CX are the photographer's car.
The 2CV Mehari was the car for the cinematographer with his Paillard
and Eclair 16mm cinecamera.
Even the Germns with the fat Arriflex drove the 2CV4 .
Nice analogy...this was my dad's car for 39 years, and he was a keen photographer. Bronica and Canon... couldn't afford Hasselblad! 😆
So ahead of its time and still beautiful.
I love this car. Stellantis most bring back this machine as flagship!
Hearse. Exactly what I thought at the outset. Still magnificent.
Grew up in the back of one of those, 7 hr trips to Cornwall pre M4/M5. Left hand drive. Excellent car but maintenance was an issue. Then went to Volvo 145, riding in a brick.
Iconic car for the time and very comfortable too but an absolute bastard to work on.
Great review of a beautiful car...👍
gerard depardieu is still knocking about and still able to knock you out, he's a wild one
I have never seen these reversing lights before!
Yes, a real genius design!
One of my dream cars. My uncle had one back in the day (circa 1972). The first thing he did after bringing it home was install a trailer hitch so he could pull a trailer to haul camping gear.
A few observations...
Aerodynamic roof rack that did not whistle.
Bottom section of tail gate could have 2 number plates at right angles so with the tailgate bottom open the number plate is still displayed.
The Slough UK built Safari with the wooden dash and Jaeger instruments replaced the metal & plastic dash with a long speedo, fuel gauge & temp gauge. Also leather seats in UK model, not France.
It is a 7 seater with the jump seats up.
An 8 seater Familiale was available in France with 3 rows of seats.
The sunvisors slid out to meet in the centre of the windscreen or down near you head with used on the side... only Citroen.
The safety features of the DS included progressive crumple with an engine that dove down.
Maybe the most pedestrian friendly car ever, with a long sloping soft aluminum bonnet and front spare tyre to add to the cushioning. Only car with a softer bonnet was a 2CV.
Une fantastique voiture de l’époque
Ingénieuses formes de transport
I don't care if the engine was designed by the Gauls in the time of Ceaser. This car is one of the best ever
In Australia the DS was favoured by architects and engineers - designing the best...
Jorn Utzon - designer of Sydney Opera House had a DS Safari.
Harry Seidler - designer of Australia Square, Grosvenor Square, the MLC building, Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, Rose Seidler House, Blues Point Tower, Australian Embassy Paris, Horizon Apartments, Shell House.... Harry has DS, CX & XM...
It’s a thing of beauty
Reminds me of a low-rider with hydraulics, but more sophisticated and cosmopolitan.
Wish id bought one on ebay a few years ago for 3k! Lovely car 👍🙏💙
I think le monsieur he likes the car 😀😎
That was my dad's car. No...not this model...this car. He bought it at 1 year old (when I was also one) and we kept it for 30-odd years. We drove from Lancashire to Vienna in it....twice! Later on, one of the huge front wheel bearings began to fail, so he and I drove to Edinburgh (late 80s / early 90s) and rummaged around a massive Victorian greenhouse in Gerry Mallin's garden for a complete suspension and wheel bearing unit. This car was assembled in Slough, and to get round import duties on "foreign" vehicles it was built with some parts from UK firms, notably Lucas and Jaeger. From new, it never had seatbelts, and us three kids would slide around on the dep blue leather rear seat. As a new car in 1964 it would have been fearfully expensive.
When I was tiny, my older brother demonstrated the cigarette lighter...by applying it to my cheek!
Gorgeous!
Magnificent
As a kid growing up in Paris, many of the taxi cabs were DS's. I always got car sick in them because the floaty ride.
Compare this damper in the spheres with conventional chock absorbers. In the Citroen they last forever (just holes in a valve), whereas conventional dampers must be replaced at certain intervals and are very expensive!
And the suspension is by cheap nitrogen gas. No costly and vulnerable steel springs. When the gas eventually runs out, you just fill up the spheres, and the suspension is like new again! Very simple and cheap!
So, the hydropneumatic suspension system is the best there is, both in terms of comfort, cost, reliability and safety!
As I get older I can see one of these or a DS21 Replacing the RS6 in my dream car garage, time I was put out to pasture?
I’m in my 20s and I couldn’t agree more!
It can be driven with one wheel removed ...the suspension compensates for the missing wheel.
Nice watch on the NATO Bond strap - what watch is it?
Pretty, but the salon is beautiful
4:00 used it as a tracking car....?
For horse 🐎 racing.
They would drive around the outer track of the race course on a grass track.
In case anybody wondered 😆
Peace
Charlie 🇬🇧
A friend of mine called the design of the DS compromise-less.
this car deserved a vee 6 version
the original DS was designed to take a flat 6.... air cooled... they ran out of money
Yes...this long-stroke plodder from the Light 15 wasn't really powerful enough. But the SM got this suspension and the Maserati (?) V6, of course.
Anything with a Heavy Metal Kids (HMK) number plate works for me.
I wannit I wannit I wannit !!!!
Could've sworn I watched this yesterday
You did Liam, it was taken down after I posted a comment saying that the presenter had his facts wrong.......he stated that the estate had fixed headlights and the coupe/saloon had swivel headlights. In fact they all had fixed from launch in 1955 to 1967 and then all had swivel......they re edited and cut that bit out. If CC are trying to build a customer base to sell their cars on the CC platform I expect CC to know more about vehicles than me.....mind you I did have a DS 5 Super.
Somber ! With those lights. That is my sort of hearse.
Did you mention how amazing the all round vision is
A palace on wheels.
The back of the DS has the same space as their lorry has. I would love to own one. I'd change out the engine for something a little faster.
0.44 secs ... what is that alien sneaking across the grass ?
I had BX and Xantia estates. Amazing suspension but complex and not too reliable hydro-pneumatic systems. I learned the hard way that when the [STOP] light came on, you stopped (or tried to) immediately!
If normally maintained it works flawlessly. I had two BX, changed the spheres myself
A well looked after system is super reliable. Maintenance is key as with any wonderful piece of engineering. It’s actually modern materials that make them unreliable. Poor quality rubber parts etc…
Jacket continuity!!
If everyone drove these, roadrage would be non existent.
Amen to that. They are incredibly smooth and quiet.
ID 19 Safari conventional brake pedal/clutch . Power brake with floor mushroom button + clutch pedal makes it a DW 19 Safari The DS designation refers to semi auto gear change. Right hand drive metal roof probably built in slough, glass fiber roof French built. I had a DW Safari & DS presidential trim saloon in the 1960's
Correct - Slough built, with plenty of UK parts to get round import duties.
Sadly from 2030 on all combustion cars including classics will be banned
from public streets in entire EU and Scandinavia :-( In Germany the
Green Peoples Party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025
on by reducing all conventional fuel stations to only one state operated central gas
station per city or county. Now they want to slow down all the gas station fuel
pumps from 20 litre per minute to 2 litre per minute...From 2027 on in
the EU certain car spare parts will be banned too....as exhaust systems,
turbo chargers and even some engine and gearbox oils...California and
New York will do the same from 2027 on.... So no investments should be
done in oil burning cars any longer....They even created a new kind of
crime here, called emissions and smoke crime....:-(((
If there's a car that needs resto-modding it'll be one of these.
Nah . . . A resto mod DS safari would be terrible. I know it's a current vogue but many old cars are just fine as they are and all the character can get lost . If you drive them as intended they're fine .
Beautiful Car Citroën ID DS Safari, I (71) think about the price 60.000 euro on this moment>?
Normally the ID Sedan/Saloon didn´t have the mushroom brake button, leather seats and chrome handles! Can only, strangely enough, only be found on the Brake/Safari!
My favourite affordable car….cheaper 10 years ago!!
This car has been aptly nicknamed "snoek" in Dutch (Eng: Northern pike) .
By the way, was that a really big oil catch can I saw next to the spare tire ?
It is the hydraulic fluid reservoir, for suspension, brakes, steering.
👌✨
Please note that the dashboard is not the original french one! The french didn´t have an ampere-meter, for instance. At it looked very different! No wood at all!
The British had to chuck some wood on the dash - any wood will do. LOL
Imagine if the DS had received the flat 6 engine as Citroen intended... but ran out of money...
If your car lowers when you depress the brakes then you are low on Mineral fluid. I know because I used to drive a 65 DS Saloon.
❤️
Not hydro-pneumatic please; oleo-pneumatic, yes?
Non esistono più macchine di serie così belle e intelligenti (Italian style- disegno di Bertoni da non confondere con Bertone), le brutture di oggi sono inqualificabili, vetture dalla struttura di SW che sono diventate coupé rubando, tra l'altro inutilmente, spazio a persone e bagagli, inqualificabili!!!
The english number-plate at the front is not very nice!
As the roads get progressively worse we could do with a modern version of the DS that just wafts over all the crap surfaces.
@Alfred Wedmore But they've got stupid low profile tyres on and firm suspension, totally defeats the object. SUVs are a fashion/trend/fad, people buy them because everyone else has one.
The ID model is cheaper than the DS and lacks the glazing that covers the headlamps. Not sure if the headlamps turn with the steering like the DS. I've seen a Safari estate in London recently driving along Commercial Road in Stepney, PYR68L. Competetion from the square tank Mk4 Ford Zephyr estate.
Actually the glass on the lights doesn’t relate to the model being DS or ID - this was just a design change in the car in 1967. Also the early DS up to 1967 didn’t have turning headlamps. ID (or D Super or Special as they were later called) didn’t always have turning and levelling headlamps but many people fitted it.
The title says "Citroen ID19 DS Safari" - but is that not self-contradictory?
The DS (Goddess) was the fully equipped range, whereas the ID (Idée) was the budget version. Surely it can't be both a DS and an ID. As the car in the video has a mushroom brake button I suspect it is a DS; my ID had a more conventional pedal (and no power steering).
I had an Aussie-assembled ID (very second-hand and rusty when I bought it in the early '70s). It, too, had a UK-style wooden dash, even uglier than that Slough version; the flat wood dash just didn't aesthetically cut it with the rest of the French design.
The Safari version is something in between, it did not exist in ID/DS versions. Officially it was an ID, but it had some DS features and always the mushroom brake.
@@DSReval Correct...I can vouch for this car's originality, though it didn't have the spotlights when my dad bought it in 1965. And the boot had a nice navy blue carpet, not that rubber mat. And the wheels were black, plus it had no seatbelts.