Citroen DS PLR Milles Pattes: Classic Cars

Eleven tires, two Chevrolet V8s in the back and many kilometers on the clock: Classic Cars takes a closer look at the Citroen DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes. This is a monster story!

To understand the madness of the Citroën DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes, you have to imagine the following situation on the French autobahn in the early 1970s, even before the speed limit was set in 1974: In a Citroen 2CV “Duck” you scream. perfectly at ease in a single Transporter crawling past, suddenly a DS comes roaring into the rear-view mirror, looking like it’s been run over by a TGV. Shocked, you dive to the side and let the orange roar slide on its eleven tires, where it disappears into the horizon as quickly as it appeared. Fortunately, duck drivers were spared this fate because the Michelin PLR was faulty at a test site near Clermond-Ferrand two hours’ drive west of Lyon – despite being street legal. Citroen cars with multiple axles – there was nothing? Yes, the DS’s successor, the CX, quickly made a name for itself in the magazine press in the 80s as a six-wheel-drive racer. But what is the five-axis DS all about? Michelin is behind the PLR ​​(Poids Lourd Rapide, in English: fast truck), which was completed in 1972. The tire giant owned the brand with two chevrons from 1934 to 1974 and used the converted Citroën DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes station wagon. specifically testing truck tires for about ten years. He got the nickname “Milles Pattes” – centipede. Also interesting: Tips for our products on Amazon

Citroen DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes on video:

Classic Cars presents the Citroën DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes

The highlight of the Citroën DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes: In addition to the ten outer tires, it had an eleventh central wheel in the rear, which was mounted on a swing arm and could be lowered with water and the angle adjusted while driving. This allowed the truck’s tires to be tested in various ways as the Milles Pattes swept over the pavement at speeds of up to 180 km/h. Instead of the 126 hp (93 kW) four-cylinder from the DS, the test car relied on two Corvette V8s, each with 250 hp (184 kW), which were mounted in the rear. Grille windows in the back room, four fans and two coolers with a capacity of 14 liters ensure the thermal comfort of the technology. While one of the eight cylinders drove the test tire, the other was allowed to power the three rear axles from the Peugeot 504. Typically Citroen: Even in the PLR, a good hydropneumatic suspension was used – which could also explain the happy smile of the driver in the third picture. The enormous size of the Frankenstein DS, which weighs a good nine tons, is also seen there. In addition to the length of 7.27 meters, width of 2.45 meters and height of 1.56 meters Milles Pattes, even Citroën CX and Mercedes S-Class (W126) resemble Matchbox cars. New tire testing equipment was used in the 1980s, so the Citroën DS Michelin PLR Milles Pattes was phased out. Today the goddess of centipedes is well preserved in the Michelin Museum in Clermond-Ferrand. Not far from where he was allowed to cover many kilometers in the 70s. We would like to see them working on the Autobahn.

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