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1952 Citroen Traction Avant

The Citroën Traction was a revolutionary vehicle and it could have been, quite easily, a monumental failure as it utilized many advanced features such as monocoque bodywork, 'floating' push-rod engine, independent four-wheel suspension with torsion bars, hydraulic brakes, and front-wheel drive. The Auto Unions had used independent suspension and front-wheel drive prior to the Traction Avant, so these were established technologies (albeit, seldomly used) but the mass-production of a crash-resistant, unitary, monocoque body was pioneered by the Traction Avant. Additionally, the lower and slender bodywork was a drastic departure from the boxy and flat designs of many of the vehicles of the 1930s.

André Citroën introduced the Avant during the worldwide economic depression that plagued the 1930s, and although it was a risky endeavor to introduce such a revolutionary new model, the gamble proved successful. André, himself, was not as fortunate as he lost control of his empire when a minor creditor commenced legal proceedings against him. Within two years, new owner Michelin had paid off all of Citroën's debts.

The name 'Traction Avant' translates to 'front traction,' referencing the front-wheel drivetrain. The design was courtesy of André Lefèbvre and Flaminio Bertoni in late 1933 and early 1934. The welded unitary chassis was suspended by an independent sprung front end with a torsion bar and wishbones arrangement, while the rear used a simple steel beam axle and a Panhard rod, with trailing arms and torsion bars attached to a steel tube, which was attached to the main platform. The worm and roller steering system was replaced in May of 1936 with a rack and pinion steering setup.

The Traction Avant '7', unofficially the 7A and later the 7B, was produced from 1934 through 1941. The 7A were saloons with front suicide doors, rear conventional doors, a 115-inch wheelbase, and a 1,303cc engine. The 7B arrived in June of 1934 came with a more powerful 1,529cc engine and used two windscreen wipers instead of the single wiper on the 7A. The 7C followed in October of 1934 with a 1,628cc (99.3 CID) engine. These '7' models were placed in the 9 CV tax band.

The 11CV arrived in 1934 with a 1,911cc four-cylinder engine, and the 15/6 was launched in June of 1938 with a 2,867cc six-cylinder engine. The 11 was in the 11CV tax band while (for some reason) the 15/6 was in the 16 CV tax band. The 11 was built as the 11BL ('légère', or 'light'), which had the same footprint as the 7 CV, and the 11B ('Normale', or 'normal'), which rested on a longer wheelbase and wider track. The 11 was built from 1934 through 1957 and the 15/6 from 1938 to 1956.

The Familiale (family) model had three rows of seating and the middle row could be folded away when not in use. The 11 CV Commerciale (commercial) had an elongated chassis and was the first hatchback version, with the tailgate opening in two halves. The lower portion could be folded down to form a platform and carried the spare wheel. The upper portion cut into the roof level.

When production of the Traction Avant came to a close, they were replaced by the equally revolutionary DS.

by Dan Vaughan

Sedan

This 1952 Citroen Traction Avant is a 15CV powered by an inline six-cylinder engine with a 2,867cc displacement and overhead valves. Around 6.5% of the TAV's had 6-cylinder engines. Also, TAV's were never sold in the United States. The transmission is located in front of the engine with clutch, flywheel and pressure plate in between. The current owner was an American G.I. station in France from 1961 through 1963, and owned an early 1952 model which he drove all around Europe.

This Citroen was acquired from a warehouse in the Chicago area where it had resided for at least 3 years. Little is known of its previous history other than it had been owned by a Chicago restauranteur for four years. The French plates indicate that it was registered in the Paris area at one time.

From 2009 to 2012, the car was treated to a nearly 100% restoration by its current owner.

Making it a habit to be at the forefront of the newest technological inventions, Automobiles Citroën has always tried to be the leader in this arena. Citroën needed a totally new revolutionary model in 1933, despite all of its financial problems. The desired features in the new model included 100 km/h maximum speed, uni-body construction, a consumption of 10 liters/100 km, an automatic gearbox, and front-wheel drive.

Designed by André Lefèbvre and Flaminio Bertoni, the Citroën Traction Avant was introduced at the end of 1933 by the French manufacturer Citroën. The Avant was the product of the French mass-production pioneer of front-drive and all-steel unit construction, encouraged by America's Budd Body Company. During its production run from 1934 through 1957, a total of 760,000 units were produced. One of the most successful vehicles with front-wheel drive in the 1930's, the Traction Avant was not the first production front-wheel-drive car. 'Traction Avant' is French for front-wheel drive.

While most vehicles of the era were based on a separate chassis onto which the coachwork was built, the Traction Avant used an arc-welded monocoque. The Unit Body construction resulted in a lighter vehicle, and today is now used for almost all car construction, although body-on-frame construction is still suitable for larger vehicles such as trucks. The Avant featured many advances that included removable wet cylinder liners, pushrod OHV engines, independent front suspension, and four-wheel torsion-bar springing. The driveline layout was influenced by the U.S. Cord 810/812, and put a three-speed manual gearbox ahead of the differential and engine.

Very soon, the original prototypes were prepared and ready to be tested. The Traction Avant was introduced prematurely and changes were necessary to get rid of the problems that had originally occurred with the first vehicles. Various problems were found in the automatic gearbox, but the majority of the vehicle seemed to be fine. A new manual gearbox was redesigned within three weeks, with three forward and one reverse gear. The steering was too heavy and a different type of steering was needed. At first, the rear luggage space was not accessible through a boot lid, but only by swinging the upper part of the back seat upwards and securing it to the roof with two straps.

Possessing a very unique look, the Traction Avant appeared quite interesting in 1934, but by 1955, the look was considered to be old-fashioned. For the era that the car was introduced, the suspension was quite advanced. Independently sprung, the front wheels used a torsion bar and wishbone suspension arrangement, whereas most contemporaries used live axle and cart-type leaf spring designs. To allow the two torsion bars to run parallel to each other, across the vehicle's width, the rear suspension was a simple steel beam axle and Panhard rod with unequal trailing arms.

The styling of the Citroën Traction Avant was low-slung at only 60 inches high that was emphasized by omitting running boards. Interior space was quite exceptional and was created by placing the wheels at the extreme corners, and high stability was formed along with a smooth ride.

The Citroën Traction Avant was capable of 62 mph and used only 10 liters of gas per 24 mpg due to it being lighter than the 'conventional' designs of the era. The Avant was produced in both a 4-door body, a 2-door coupe with a rumble seat, as an extended length model with three rows of seats, and as a convertible. In 1939, the Avant also debuted as a hatchback-type Commerciale variant, in which the tailgate was in two halves, the lower of which held the spare wheel with the upper opening up to the roof level. After production was resumed following World War II, a one-piece top-hinged tailgate was introduced on the Commerciale.

One variant of the Traction Avant was a small saloon called the 7A with a 1303 cc engine. In June 1934 the 7A was succeeded by the 7B and 7C with higher-powered engines of 1529 and 1628 cc respectively. Another variant was the 11 (for 11 CV) came with a four-cylinder 1911 cc engine, and the 15 (for the 15 CV), which featured a 2867 cc six-cylinder. The 11 variant was constructed in two versions, the 11L (light); which was the same size as the 7CV, and the normal mode 11, which came with a longer wheelbase.

Citroën designed two unique variant models. Unfortunately, these never entered production due to a lack of available funding to develop them. One variant was based on the Sensaud de Lavaud automatic transmission and was an automatic transmission-equipped model. The second variant was a 22CV model with a larger V8 engine, of about 4 liters. The project was canceled in 1935 due to Michelin's takeover, and only about twenty prototypes were ever made.

The cost to develop the Traction Avant was extremely steep, and due to this, in 1934 Citroën had to declare bankruptcy. Michelin, the largest creditor ran Citroën as a research laboratory.

The oldest surviving Traction Avant 7A is on display in the Citroën Museum in Paris. The convertible Traction Avant 11L made its famous debut in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade film with Harrison Ford.

by Jessican Donaldson