The Traction Avant (front wheel drive) was a bold gamble that became a revolution in itself. using advanced techno -logies in its design, it made most other vehicles look old fashioned.

The Traction Avant had an integral all-steel unitised body that was lighter and designed to be aerody -namic. Its centre of gravity was lower and the torsion bar suspension had four independent wheels for an incompa -rable ride. It did away with door sills and gained hydrauli -cally controlled brakes for increased driveability.

Presented in April 1934, the first model was the 7A. The Traction Avant set a new record for the length of its career, since the 759,123rd and last model left the Javel plant on 25 July 1957, 23 years, four months and 15 days after the original launch.

At the 1934 Paris Motor Show, a full range was on display on the CITROËN stand, already including a number of body style variants, including the 11 and the 6-cylinder 15, the future queen of the highway

Story by Citroën Communication