As you may or may not know, I have been somewhat absent here at Hooniverse because I have been in a five way brawl trying to capture the Head Writers Position at (Redacted). So while trolling around for some newsworthy items from around the web, I came across this little gem from a site I spent a few months writing for, Car Throttle. They have a very European slant, and long story made short, I stopped writing for them for personal reasons. However, the writers are great, and they find great stories that usually don’t make it across the pond, like this one.


It seems that a rare Citroën went up for auction this past week in Paris at the 35th Rétromobile exhibition at Porte de Versailles from the January 22-31. On January 23rd Bonhams offered 99 cars and 50 exceptional items of automobilia. A prestigious 28-car collection belonging to an Andalusian industrialist is the centerpiece of the sale. It includes five Hispano-Suiza cars with elegant coach-built bodies, several Bentleys, a Lagonda, a Hor, a Cadillac V16 Double Phaeton
convertible and a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza estimated at more than a million euros. Among all these beautiful cars is the subject of this post, one that is both beautiful and technically fascinating, the 1971 Citroën DS21 Décapotable with coachwork by Henri Chapron.

The sale price is estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of €130,000 – €150,000. This particular car underwent an extensive restoration, including a bare metal repaint in the original Jet Black color, re-plating or replacing of all stainless brightwork. and a complete re-do of the stunning cognac leather interior and black canvas top. The work was performed to a concours standard, of course. Mechanically the Citroën Décapotable has a new steering rack, hydraulic pump, accumulator, suspension spheres, voltage regulator, alternator, starter switch and cables, and a new exhaust system.
So is this car worth the auction estimates? You tell me. Wouldn’t you really have this car rather than, oh let’s say a Ferrari, or a Porsche? I would, but what about you?