1953 Citroën Traction Avant 11 BL Légère 🇮🇹

Like so many early automotive pioneers, André Citroën started in the component business and subcontracting before producing his own complete cars.

In March 1919, just four months after the gunfire of World War I ceased, the first production car was announced. Modeled on Henry Ford’s thinking of producing a light, inexpensive and easy to operate car, the 10 hp Type A would launch Citroën on the world market. In 1920, a brief flirtation with General Motors over the possible sale of the company almost came to fruition before GM finally walked away.

Citroen became well known for innovative engineering. The first all steel bodied European car, cars with tracks instead of wheels, and the first commercially available diesel passenger car are just a few of Citroën firsts. But, making unconventional automobiles didn’t always help the profit margins and the company fell into debt by the late 1920s.

The bankers stepped in to rescue the company and direct it toward the next big product. By 1933, engineer André Lefèbvre and designer Flamino Bertoni handed their design to the American Budd Company to produce a prototype. This car eventually evolved into the  32 horsepower Traction Avant 7A. 

The name of the car says a lot about what made it special. “Traction Avant” translates to,  front-drive. While  front wheel drive was not a new concept nor was this the first in production, it would become the first front wheel drive to be produced in large numbers. The innovations did not stop at the driveline. The car had a unitized or monocoque body, the body and frame were all one unit, unlike nearly any car on the road at the time. It also had independent suspension on all four corners, rubber engine mounts, no running boards and it was lower than almost any other car of the day.

Andre Citroën had big ambitions for the car and in 1933 he set about demolitioning his factory and  building a bigger one, four times the size.  The new factory was celebrated with the characteristic showmanship of Citroën by inviting 6,000 dealers and guests who would be involved in promoting the new car to see the car in the new factory. All of this while rushing to gear up for production and not stopping production of the old car.

The car finally hit showrooms in April 1934. While it was well received, Citroën’s hubris of thinking he could pull off a new factory,  new car and keep the production of the old car going proved too much for the company. Citroën was forced into bankruptcy in December 1934.

Michelin was the largest creditor and they took over the company.  The Traction Avant became the primary product of Citroën. The engine sizes grew, three times in the first year alone. Versions with long wheelbases, an enlarged sedan and one with three row seating to accommodate families, also appeared. A commercial version with a hatchback, a coupe and even a convertible with rumble seat all saw production at one time or another.

The Traction Avant was even produced part way through World War II to supply cars to the military. Production ceased some time after the German occupation of France. Production  resumed after the war and didn’t end until the final car rolled out the factory to no fanfare in July 1957.