Citroen Traction Avant Limited Edition Premier 1934-1957

In the English speaking countries, most people did not know what to make of Citroen's Traction Avant at first. Contemporary reports suggest either polite tolerance of a peculiarly Gallic piece of quirkiness, or a total incomprehension of the significance of its design advances. Make no mistake, though: the Citroen was very much ahead of its time when the first examples were shown at the 1934 Paris Salon. In those days, the automotive norms were a separate chassis, rear wheel drive and beam axles; and most cars had side-valve engines. The Citroen broke with all these traditions, for it had unitary construction, front wheel drive, independent front suspension and an advanced OHV wetliner engine. Twenty three years later, when the last examples left the production line in Paris, most of its pioneering advances had been widely adopted by other manufacturers. Not only was the Citroen technically advanced, however. It also looked quite different from most of its contemporaries. In place of the upright and unimaginative lines of the typical 1930s family saloon, it had long, sleek and low styling, drawn up by an Italian sculptor who had turned his hand to car design. Yet the Traction Avant was still a family saloon, and still affordable by the man in the street. It was perhaps hardly surprising that the enormous cost of introducing such a revolutionary new car brought about Citroen's bankruptcy in the mid 1930s, but the Traction Avant carried on and some 750,000 had been built by the time production ended in 1957. By then, the car had come to symbolise the France of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. I have always loved the Traction Avant, and I am delighted to see it commemorated in this Limited Edition Premier from Brooklands Books, as handy and comprehensive a collection of writing about the car as any enthusiast or motoring journalist could wish for. Included are road tests, performance data, new model reports & buying second hand. Models covered: Types 7, 11 & 15s, Super Modern 12 & 15s, Sports & Popular 12s, Light & Big 15s & the Sixes between 1934 & 1957.