The Traction Avant, French for "front wheel drive", was designed by André Lefèbvre and Flaminio Bertoni starting in late 1933. In addition to the 4-door body, the car was also produced as a 2-door coupé with a rumble seat, (dickie seat) as a convertible also with a rumble seat and as an extended length Familiale with three rows of seats, seating 9 adults. There was also a hatchback-type Commerciale.
It was the world's first front-wheel drive steel unitary body frame production car. It used a longitudinal front-wheel drive layout with the engine set well within the wheelbase. The gearbox was placed at the front of the vehicle with the engine behind it and the differential between them. The development costs were very high and Citroën declared bankruptcy in late 1934. The largest creditor was Michelin, who then owned Citroën from 1934 until 1976.
The original model was a small saloon on a 2,910mm wheelbase, with a 1,303cc engine: this model was called the 7A. After 2 months the 7A was succeeded in June 1934 by the 7B which used a higher-power engine of 1,529cc and provided two windscreen wipers in place of the single wiper on the original production cars. This was succeeded in October 1934 by the 7C with an even higher-output 1,628cc engine.
The 11 launched in November 1934 in two versions, the 11BL ("légère", or "light"), which was the same size as the 7 CV, and the 11B ("Normale", or "normal"), which had a longer wheelbase and wider track. Both had a 1,911cc four-cylinder engine. In June 1938 the 15/6, with a 2,867cc six, was launched.
After World War 2 production of the car continued, with the main change coming in 1952, when the opening vents on the bonnet were replaced with slotted vents, and a larger trunk with the spare wheel inside replaced the flat truck with an external spare. The “moustache” bumpers were replaced with straight items.
The car was used by both sides in France during the Second World War, and the Gang des Tractions Avant, a criminal gang known after its preferred vehicle the Traction 15/6.
Although a cultural icon in France, the car is best known in many places as the “Maigret” car after the 1992 TV series with Michael Gambon
759,111 built, including 26,400in England, 31,750 in Belgium and 1,823 in Germany.
For more information see here.
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