There’s a common phenomenon we see when collector cars come up for auction in unexpected places. Basically, it seems to play out that an individual managing an estate decides to use a general auctioneer service to clean out the house or property, without much thought given to whether that agency is the best fit for everything on the property. An auctioneer in general knows a little bit about everything but we often see that they completely miss the mark on properly marketing a classic car – like this 1971 Citroen DS that’s buried in a listing for lots of household junk here on EstateSales.net.

Now, a Citroen DS – or, technically, a DS21 to be completely accurate – is a car with a very specific following as it is. You have a narrow group to market it towards, because even while many casual observers know what it is, relatively few collectors want the burden of restoring a complex vintage car of known provenance. DS’ are notoriously expensive to set right, if not for the labor costs than for the complexity of the parts and the time involved in tracking them down (note: as someone who owns obscure cars, I recognize it’s not that bad, but it’s still more involved than restoring a Corvair.) Also worth noting is that this appears to be a European-spec car, meaning a non-federalized example – the headlights are a clear giveaway (also note some rust bubbling below the assembly.)

Now, here’s where I could be wrong: the true European market cars also have distinct taillights, and these appear to be standard U.S. rear lenses. So, perhaps an enthusiast swapped in a set of the glass headlamps, a common upgrade on almost any European market cars. The paint is a terrific shade of pea green, but it appears to be badly faded or suffering from a poor prior respray; either way, details like these need independent verification, and the catch-all auctioneer isn’t going to know what to make of this car. The good news is the chrome appears to be in decent shape; the bad news is the peeling paint, random wheel covers, and ugly tinted windows all raise a variety of questions about its history.

The interior has seen better days, and the aftermarket speakers are further cause for concern. This is not a car we typically see customized with aftermarket junk, so the general feeling is that it belonged to a owner not concerned with originality, as most DS enthusiasts are. The auction site doesn’t specify much about the car, including its mileage or general running condition, so you’ll want to get to Somerset, Massachusetts, if you wish to solve some of the mysteries surrounding this vintage Citroen. Regardless, for anyone watching, I’ll bet it will go quite cheaply on an obscure auction site (for cars, anyways) like this. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Paul in MA for the find!