1911cc 4 Cylinder Inline
3 Speed 2 Synchro Manual Gearbox
Front Engined Rear Wheel Drive
Hydraulic Drum Brakes
57 bhp
Exterior Tan over Black Interior Black
Citroen’s Traction Avant premiered in 1934 and was a pioneering car in many ways, bringing some experiemental technologies intomass production for the first time. It was a front engined, front wheel drive car on a monocoque chassis with fully independent suspension. In the same era, most other manufacturers were still using cart sprung solid front and rear beam axles. The Unibody design also allowed the car to sit much lower and look more sleeker than its body-on-frame contemporaries. Although this wasn’t the first car to use these technologies, it was one of the first to use them on a mass-produced scale and in combination. The Traction Avant was wildly successful, being produced both before and after World War 2, in France and in England, with over three quarters of a million cars being built between 1934 and 1957.
My Traction Avant is a French built B11 Legere (lightweight) and was restored in the 1990s by Cliff Bisch, after which he sold it and the new owner essentially never drove it, leaving it parked in a barn most of the time. Cliff retrieved the car, made some initial repairs due to the neglect, and sold it to me, after which I had to rebuild the brakes and starter, as well as sort out some other general issues, largely derived from how long it sat unused. This example does run and drive pretty well, now that the problems have been dealt with. The car is still running on its original 6 volt electrical system. As the first French car to enter my collection, it is one I’ve always admired the design of and felt was the most approachable Citroen to start with
