[GSlob]

"Say what you will about the French..."
Hm... The only thing the French had to do with it was to had hired a good Italian designer:
"...The Déesse was developed for Citroen by the Italian designer Flaminio Bertoni..." And since at least Michelangelo's times the Italians have been known for their strength in design, be it architectural, automotive, clothing , shoes and so on...

[GSlob]

"to have had", not "to had".

[Chode]

The only thing the French had to do with it was to had hired a good Italian designer: absolutely... that being said though a friend of mine had an SM with a Masseretti(sp) engine in it that was a real terror. again thanks to the Italians

[kiwiexpat]

Just for the record, Bertoni designed the exterior. French engineers designed the suspension and mechanicals. The engine was the same as the one used in the Traction Advant. The DS was a combination of Italian-penned styling and French engineering. By the way, the Traction Advant was solely designed by the French, and it represented a huge step forward in design and engineering when it came out in the late 1930s.