Paul Magès' note on the AP suspension (22 February 1963)

In this document

Context of the note

This handwritten note follows "the 'Suspension' conference of 21.2.63", whose participants are listed: Messrs. Cadion, Houdet, de Casteljau, Nongaron, Kermann, Sequec, Chinon, Grosseau, Petitdidier, Loris and Magès p. 26. Paul Magès responds to a concern from management regarding the resources deployed for the study of the suspension "in general and the AP in particular" p. 26.

Defense of his method

Magès refuses the easy path of saying that nothing better can be done without the resources proposed by Mr. Nongaron, judging that "that would not be honest" p. 26. He recalls that as early as 1945 a study on the necessary resources had been envisaged, mentioning the "Standard Road" planned by Mr. Roche, a project that remained without funding p. 26. He states that he does not dare to incur such expenses, considering the expected benefit "slim" p. 26, while acknowledging the usefulness of additional qualified personnel and "some small equipment" p. 26.

The parameters of the AP

Magès details the constraints which, according to him, enclose the AP problem: maximum unladen weight, minimum weight at the front, travel and trim variation, inclination in corners p. 26. He concludes that the mechanical characteristics of the springs are "practically determined" without the risk of obtaining a suspension that is too soft p. 26-27, and that the only point remaining to be solved is "suitable damping" — a problem for which, he writes, no one to date is capable of providing help p. 27.

Transmission and follow-up

Magès points out that this "should have been the conclusion" of the conference, fearing a misunderstanding among those not familiar with the subject p. 27. The note, dated 22.2.63, ends with a request for transmission to "Messrs. Bercot and Bercudo" p. 27. A later annotation, from 27.8.64, indicates that the document was "returned to Mr. Cadion" by a third party whose name remains uncertain, with the mention "agreed P.M." p. 26.

Context

The "AP" likely designates, in the Citroën internal vocabulary of that time, an automotive project under development — the acronym commonly refers to the future model that would become the Ami or to an intermediate range project, without the document explicitly specifying it.

Paul Magès is, for Citroën, the inventor of the hydropneumatic suspension, already applied to the DS since 1955. At the beginning of the 1960s, the brand was exploring its extension to other models, which explains the budgetary tensions mentioned here between technical ambitions and management decisions.

Pierre Bercot was then the head of Citroën; the mention of his name at the end of the note underlines the hierarchical importance Magès attached to this message.

Archivist's perspective

This document offers a rare glimpse into Magès' personal position regarding his hierarchy: he assumes, with a certain firmness tinged with caution ("No one is obliged to believe me"), the limits of his resources while defending the rigor of his empirical method. The tone is that of an engineer concerned with transparency rather than opportunistic justification.

It seems that this note is in line with the technical and institutional exchanges of the time, notably with the BBC Conferences of November-December 1960 and the summary of the BBC session of 22 February 1962, which already testify to internal discussions on the continuous improvement of the suspension.

The chronological proximity to the Conference notes of 28 February 1963 suggests that this file documents a pivotal moment of tension between technical requirements and budgetary constraints, probably revealing the debates that were then animating the design office regarding the future of the Citroën suspension.