1949 Citroen Traction Avant, 78 FJB
When these cars went into production in 1934, they were technically very advanced for the time with a monocoque body shell, front wheel drive, independent front suspension, hydraulic breaks and from 1936 rack and pinion steering. The styling of the body was the work of Italian artist and sculpture Flaminio Bertoni.
They were much lower, sleeker and had far better cornering and handling capabilities than most other cars of the period. For this reason they were used by both the Germans and the Freach Resistance during WW II and by criminals and the police, including the fictional French detective Maigret.
Citroen also produced cars in Slough, Berkshire. Local assembly and a high degree of British components allowed the cars to avoid heavy import duty that was imposed to protect British car manufacturers. It also meant they could be importer to British colonies where a system of 'imperial preference' favoured British sourced cars.
The Slough built Tractions differed from the French and Belgian versions, not only because they were mainly right hand drive but also that they had leather seats rather than cloth and wooden dashboards instead of metal.
This car is a small boot version 'Light Fifteen' model with a 1911 cc four cylinder engine. Later models had a larger boot grafted on. The 'Light' is to differentiate it from the 'Big Fifteen' long wheel version. The 'Fifteen' refers to the fiscal horsepower, not the break horsepower, used by the government to apply car tax.
Production of the Traction at Slough finished on September 1955.
1949 Citroen Traction Avant, 78 FJB
When these cars went into production in 1934, they were technically very advanced for the time with a monocoque body shell, front wheel drive, independent front suspension, hydraulic breaks and from 1936 rack and pinion steering. The styling of the body was the work of Italian artist and sculpture Flaminio Bertoni.
They were much lower, sleeker and had far better cornering and handling capabilities than most other cars of the period. For this reason they were used by both the Germans and the Freach Resistance during WW II and by criminals and the police, including the fictional French detective Maigret.
Citroen also produced cars in Slough, Berkshire. Local assembly and a high degree of British components allowed the cars to avoid heavy import duty that was imposed to protect British car manufacturers. It also meant they could be importer to British colonies where a system of 'imperial preference' favoured British sourced cars.
The Slough built Tractions differed from the French and Belgian versions, not only because they were mainly right hand drive but also that they had leather seats rather than cloth and wooden dashboards instead of metal.
This car is a small boot version 'Light Fifteen' model with a 1911 cc four cylinder engine. Later models had a larger boot grafted on. The 'Light' is to differentiate it from the 'Big Fifteen' long wheel version. The 'Fifteen' refers to the fiscal horsepower, not the break horsepower, used by the government to apply car tax.
Production of the Traction at Slough finished on September 1955.