Citroën Traction Avant
The Citroën Traction Avant (French pronunciation: [tʁaksjɔnaˈvɑ̃]) is the world's first monocoque-bodied, front-wheel drive, mass-production car. A range of mostly 4-door saloons and executive cars, as well as longer wheelbased "Commerciale", and three row seating "Familiale" models, were produced with four- and six-cylinder engines, by French carmaker Citroën from 1934 to 1957. With some 760,000 units built, the Traction Avants were the first front-wheel drives made in such (six-figure) quantity.
| Citroën Traction Avant | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Citroën |
| Also called | Citroën 7 Citroën 11 Citroën 15/6 Citroën Light Twelve (UK) Citroën Light 15 (UK) Citroën Big Fifteen (UK) Citroën Big Six (UK) |
| Production | 7 : 1934–41 11 : 1934–57 15/6 : 1938–56 |
| Assembly | Paris, France Forest, Belgium Cologne, Germany Slough, United Kingdom Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Designer | Flaminio Bertoni André Lefèbvre |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Executive car (E) |
| Body style | 4-door saloon 2-door saloon 2-door convertible 5-door hatchback |
| Layout | FMF layout |
| Related | Citroën H Van |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.3 / 1.5 / 1.6 / 1.9 L I4 2.9 L I6 |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual, column/dash shift |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,910 mm (114.6 in) 7 & 11 légère (light) 3,090 mm (121.7 in) 11CV normale & 15/6 3,270 mm (128.7 in)11CV longue & 15/6 limousine |
| Length | 4,450–4,960 mm (175.2–195.3 in) |
| Width | 1,620–1,790 mm (63.8–70.5 in) |
| Height | 1,520–1,580 mm (59.8–62.2 in) |
| Kerb weight | 1,025–1,170 kg (2,260–2,579 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Citroën Rosalie Citroën C4 & C6 |
| Successor | Citroën DS |
Whilst front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension had been established in production cars by Auto Union, and subsequently by others a few years prior – the Traction Avant pioneered integrating these into a mass-production car with a crash resistant, largely unitary, monocoque body. Additionally, the car was also an early adopter of rack and pinion steering.
Although the car's name emphasized its front-wheel drive power delivery ("Traction Avant" literally means "front traction"), the car stood out at least as much by its much lower profile and stance – made possible by the absence of a separate vehicle frame or chassis under the car's mostly unitary body – sharply distinguishing it visually from its taller contemporaries.