Front-wheel drive

A vehicle of revolutionary design, the Traction Avant is hailed by the press when it makes its debut in 1934.
It is "so new, so bold, so full of original ideas, so different from what has gone before"

Other carmakers, including the German firm Adler, had already tried to produce a vehicle in which the car is driven by the front wheels. But the engine was too big and this limited the size of the passenger compartment.
As a result, the cars of the time tend to have rear-wheel steering. Moreover, they are made of wood, covered with sheets of metal fixed to a chassis with the engine bolted on directly. Cars therefore tend to be particularly heavy with fixed steering systems. The technical challenge facing the Traction Avant was to devise a way of placing the engine and gearbox assembly on the front wheels, which are both powered and steered. The vehicle would also have a lower centre of gravity. As a result, the car offers excellent roadholding, making it much sought-after.

This innovative engineering is not the only surprise in store for drivers of the Traction Avant. Everything is new. The car is much lighter since the integral, unitised all-steel body (a design adopted by Lancia before Citroën) does away with the old chassis. And thanks to the efforts of engineer André Lefebvre and styling engineer Flaminio Bertini, the vehicle is more aerodynamic than its predecessors, with well designed lines, evenly distributed weight and an air flow that favours speed.

André Citroën had even planned an automatic gearbox but problems with sealing led him to adopt, at the last minute, a mechanical gearbox developed in secret by far-seeing engineers. At the start, the body shell is too slack, the floating engine floats too much. The Traction is not entirely ready when it is unveiled to the public. The first customers have to cope with the teething problems! The vehicle is really only technically ready a few months later.

In 1936, the Traction Avant is further improved: the torsion bar suspension is replaced by hydraulic shock absorbers and the vehicle gains rack and pinion steering. The last Traction leaves Javel on 25 July 1957.
With a total output of 759,123 vehicles, the Traction Avant was in production for 23 years, 4 months and 15 days, a world record for its time.



Still considered as a marvel today, the Traction Avant paved the way for the modern cars. Many enthusiasts and collectors still own authentic Tractions in roadworthy condition.