eBay Find of the Day: Corvette-powered '64 Citro"en ID19 restomod

Fri, 27 Sep 2013

Take a look at the fastest Citroën ID19 (read: DS) you'll probably ever see: a 1964 model with a Chevrolet LS1 V8 swap that produces over 400 horsepower - a most unusual eBay find of the day. What's more is that this particular hot rod Citroën has been driven by rockstar Alice Cooper, who will apparently provide an autographed guitar and tour photo to the auction winner, along with two tickets to his Christmas Pudding show and the opportunity to play a round of golf with him in Arizona.

As far as we can tell from the eBay Motors ad, the Citroën doesn't actually belong to Alice Cooper, but who cares when it has a custom rear-wheel-drive chassis by Art Morrison and more than enough grunt to break the rear wheels loose on command? Finally, that beautifully sleek, aerodynamic shape can be put to use at over 100 miles per hour. But it wasn't always so, which is part of the charm of this custom build.

The Citroën DS was many things - ahead of its time, innovative, comfortable, complex - yet a hot rod it was not. It was known more for its power steering and plush ride quality courtesy of its self-leveling, height-adjustable suspension than for being able to take a corner at high speeds. It had front disc brakes, but more importantly, they were the first power-assisted disc brakes on a production car. The DS even was designed to house an air-cooled flat six more than a decade before Porsche 911 started production, but in the end, Citroën had to use its antiquated four-cylinder mill instead.

So when this example's owner claims to have spent over $300,000 on upgrades, we think the money was spent in the right places. The suspension is still adjustable, but it's been totally overhauled and tuned to handle the V8's power. A four-wheel disc-brake setup by Wilwood provides much-needed stopping power. A custom interior with air conditioning and a roll cage make sure occupants are both comfortable and protected. What more could you want – besides a lower price?

The Buy It Now price is set at $115,000, and a previous auction saw spirited big-dollar bidding that failed to hit the reserve. At time of this writing, however, there are zero bids, with a minimum starting bid of $50,000 and five days left before the auction closes. Happy bidding!

By Damon Lowney