Citroën DS returns as DS3, DS4 and DS5

Wake your granddad: Citroën's dusted a 50-year-old layer of nostalgia from the 1950s design icon that is the Citroën DS and turned it into an entire range of 'premium' cars.

The new DS range draws heavily from the DS Inside concept (pictured top), and will consist of three production models. These include the DS3 supermini, launching in 2010, plus the mid-sized DS4 and larger DS5, both of which follow later.

We've no firm details on final design, specifications or equipment, but the original DS was pretty futuristic for its time. It boasted an independent hydraulic suspension system that led some to compare the ride to that of a magic carpet, and was among the first cars to have headlights that swivelled to improve lighting in corners.

Hopefully the new cars will be crammed with technology that justifies Citroën's new advertising slogan, 'Créative Technologie'. Maybe then we'll forgive it for those naff Transformer-style adverts. More on this when we visit the Geneva Motor Show in early March 2009, but in the meantime click through for more pics.