Car Throttle

The movie Gattaca is more stylish and thought provoking than well executed. It’s well worth your time to watch, and from a gearhead perspective, there’s a lot of notable car stuff in the movie. For example, Uma Thurman, the female lead, drives around in what appears to be an electrified version of a Citroën DS convertible. But no, that’s not just any Citroën DS convertible, but a Citroën Décapotable. Very rare, very expensive, and one has just come up for auction.

In this case, we’re talking about a 1971 Citroën Décapotable that is up for auction at the Paris Retromobile. The estimated sale price should be somewhere around €130,000 – 150,000. Or, as I would put it, ” A lot!” On the outside, it looks, and is special, but underneath, it’s got all the normal stuff – “normal” for a Citroën that is.

It’s got the all-independent, self-leveling, hydro-pneumatic suspension and power-operated brakes, clutch and steering. There’s also the swiveling headlights, fuel injection and a five-speed gearbox. It turns out the Décapotables were built on the station wagon’s longer and stronger chassis.

The particular Citroën Décapotable offered for auction here has undergone an all-embracing restoration. The work done includes a bare metal repaint in the original Jet Black color, re-plating or replacing of all stainless brightwork (Citroën’s used stainless steel trim, not chrome) and a complete re-do of the stunning cognac leather interior and black mohair hood.

All 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. All of the systems have been checked and overhauled by Citroën specialists they say.

Yeah, I know €130,000 – 150,000 is a lot to pay for a French car that isn’t the best, performance-wise. Yes, for that amount of scratch you could get a rather nice Ferrari that’s a year or two old, couldn’t you? But man, don’t these Citroën Décapotables have style to spare?

Source: Classical Drives and Bonhams.