Time Machines: Driving the Citroën Traction Avant and Its Legacy

• Published date: 08 March 2024
• Author: YOAV POLLAS
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

We are at the museum as guests of Citroën, and especially for us, they brought an English-speaking volunteer guide. Quickly, we focus on the Traction Avant. It was not the first Citroën; that honor belongs to the Model A, launched in 1919 as the first car produced by André Citroën's factory, which, just a year earlier, was still making gears for the French army. The ceasefire forced the Jewish businessman to find another product. Today we call such a company pivot. At that time, cars were the high-tech

There are very few cars in the world that can be said to have truly made a change in the automotive world. It is common to think that with Citroën it is the original Citroën DS, but the truth is that the car that transformed Citroën and created the glorious history of the avant-garde French manufacturer is the Traction, as it is affectionately and shortly called.

Most of you may have heard about it here and there, but the Traction Avant was so innovative and advanced that it was produced from 1934 to 1957, meaning it survived even World War II and the technological leap that this terrible war brought with it.

Citroën believed in innovation. He was the first in Europe to build cars in mass production after sailing to see the wonder at Ford's factory in the USA. He acquired the right to place the CITROEN inscription on the Eiffel Tower to create awareness for the new manufacturer.

And at the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century, in a period of global economic crisis, he understood that only innovation would allow his company to survive. He was partly right.

The Eiffel Tower illuminated with the letters CITROEN in 1925The Eiffel Tower illuminated with the letters CITROEN in 1925/CitroënThe then holy grail of the automotive field was front-wheel drive. It was clear that this configuration would be safer and more efficient, but the challenge was to design wheels that would both steer the car and propel it. Alvis in England, Cord in the USA, and DKW in Germany had already produced such cars, but on a small scale. Citroën decided on full mass production and to incorporate another innovation into the new car: a monocoque chassis. Until then, all cars were built on a ladder frame, a separate body and frame: one chassis that would unite the two would be lighter and stronger. And if that wasn't enough, it was determined that the new car would be the first with hydraulic, power-assisted brakes.

He built a new factory for the company near Paris, while the...