5 Surprising Citroën Stories That Sound Like Fiction, But Are Pure Inventions of the Brand

Artigo voltado ao mercado Brasileiro. Artigo atualizado em 5 de June de 2026 por João Daniel

Eccentricity, audacity, or pure genius? The fact is that Citroën’s DNA has always been shaped by thinking completely outside the box. For over a century, the French manufacturer has not only defied the laws of physics and engineering with its creations, but has also been the protagonist of historical moments worthy of a movie script.

If you think a car is only for getting from point A to point B, get ready to discover five facts that will completely change your perception of the double chevron logo.

5 Unbelievable Facts from Citroën’s History

1. The Car That Saved the President (Even With Flat Tires)

In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle survived a horrific assassination attempt while traveling in his Citroën DS. The vehicle was hit by 14 shots that destroyed two of the car’s tires. In any other car of the time, the driver would have lost control, resulting in a tragedy. However, thanks to the DS’s revolutionary hydropneumatic suspension, the system instantly compensated for the loss of pressure, kept the car level, and allowed the driver to accelerate and escape at high speed, saving the ruler’s life.

2. Riding on Three Wheels? Yes, it was Possible!

The stability of the suspension created by Citroën was so absurd that models like the DS and later, the XantiaThey were physically capable of running at moderate speeds. missing one of the rear wheels. The hydraulic system redistributed pressure to the other three wheels so efficiently that the car remained balanced. Legend has it that, in Europe, the brand offered a cash prize to anyone who could roll a DS over under normal driving conditions. Nobody ever claimed the prize.

3. The Headlights That “Saw” the Curve in the 1960s

Nowadays, headlights that follow the steering wheel’s movement are sold as cutting-edge premium technology. Citroën, however, already offered this in the 1960s! The redesign of the Citroën DS introduced a mechanical cable system connected to the steering box that turned the inner headlights up to 15 degrees to the sides, illuminating the path precisely before the car even entered the curve.

4. The World’s Largest Billboard on the Eiffel Tower

André Citroën, the brand’s founder, was a marketing genius. Between 1925 and 1934, he rented no less than… Eiffel Tower to transform it into the largest illuminated billboard on the planet. More than 250,000 light bulbs were installed, lighting up to form the word “CITROËN”. The brightness was so intense that airplane pilots used the tower as a beacon to guide them into landing in Paris.

5. The Egg Test on the Citroën 2CV

When the iconic and popular Citroën 2CV During its development in the 1930s, the specifications given to the engineers contained a bizarre requirement: the car needed to be able to cross a plowed and newly planted field while carrying a basket full of eggs in the passenger seat. without a single egg breaking.. The goal was to serve French farmers who needed to transport their produce to market via roads destroyed by the war. The engineering team accepted the challenge and created an ultra-soft, interconnected suspension system that accomplished the mission admirably.

How does this heritage live on in today’s cars?

Although the complex hydraulic suspension of the past has been discontinued due to cost and weight issues, the essence of these inventions lives on in the current lineup (such as in the C3, C4 Cactus, Aircross and Basalt).

1. Accessible Technology: The 2CV’s spirit of creating robust and valiant cars for rough roads inspired the raised suspension of the new national models.
2. Advanced Comfort: The progressive hydraulic bump stops in modern shock absorbers are a direct evolution of the “flying carpet” effect, guaranteeing the same historical comfort but with simple and inexpensive maintenance.

Final Trivia: The Origin of the Logo

Do you know what the famous symbol of two arrows pointing upwards means (the Double ChevronBefore manufacturing automobiles, André Citroën patented an innovative design for V-shaped gears (double-helical), which were much quieter and could withstand greater loads than the straight gears of the time. The brand’s logo is nothing more than a stylized representation of the teeth of this gear that started the entire Citroën industrial empire.