The American in Paris

1955 Citroën Traction Avant Light 15 

The UK’s sales brochure from the Slough manufacturers of then Citroën Traction Avant cars and the headline in The Light Car magazine, of September 28, 1934, heralding the first new car, described it as The “Super Modern” Citroën. What’s wrong with that you may ask? Well, while “super” and “modern” are agreeable adjectives, I believe they are a little under-rated in this instance. I would have said “futuristic,” “innovative” or “revolutionary” were more apt. For its year, the new Citroën, unveiled to the public at the 1934 Paris Salon, was an advanced, state-of-the-art automobile. Front-wheel-drive (Traction Avant) was a concept as old as motoring itself, the first recorded use was in that latter part of the 1880s by another manufacturer, Société Parisienne, and used on its Victoria Combination powered by a De Dion-Bouton engine mounted on the front axle.