Description
By: Jon Pressnell .
CITROEN'S TRACTION AVANT was the world's most advanced family car at its launch in 1934, and in the course of its 23-year life it became a national emblem for the French. Not only did it popularize front-wheel drive and chassis-less monocoque construction, but it also combined for the first time in one car such modern features as an overhead-valve engine, all-round torsion-bar suspension, hydraulic brakes and — from 1936 — rack-and-pinion steering.
At the same time it can lay claim to being one of the most beautiful motor cars ever produced, its graceful lines being the work of talented artist and sculptor Flaminio Bertoni. But if the Traction defined Citroen as a manufacturer in the technical avant-garde, it was also too ambitious a project for a company fighting for its survival in the turbulent early 1930s: rushed into production, the revolutionary new car dragged Andre Citroen into bankruptcy, forcing him to hand control of his company to the Michelin tyre firm. Barely a year after the launch of his brainchild, Citroen was dead, but the Traction Avant is a fitting monument to this dynamic and colourful businessman, who was France's best-known industrialist.
This exhaustively detailed book examines the Traction Avant's design and chronicles the car's evolution in all its many forms. Every aspect of the Traction Avant is explored, from its participation in motor sport to its role as the favourite car of both the Resistance and the Gestapo in the Second World War. There is a chapter devoted to accessories, another to special-bodied Tractions and — for the first time — a truly comprehensive analysis of the British-built Traction Avants made in Slough. Lavishly illustrated and clearly presented, this book is the indispensable companion for all fans of this most legendary of motor cars.
CONTENTS INCLUDE:
- A The mythical V8-powered 22CV model
- A Full history of the British-built Traction Avant A Weird and wonderful accessories
- A Special-bodied Traction Avants
- A Traction Avants around the world
- A The Traction Avant in French culture A Detailed buying advice
