1956 | Citroën Traction Avant 11 BL

Citroën Traction Avant 11 BL

First presented on April 18, 1934 with the name "7", it soon adopted the name "Traction Avant", in reference to its transmission mode.
A true benchmark in terms of road holding and comfort, the Traction Avant remained in production until 1957.
Full of innovations, the Traction Avant continues to inspire the brand in terms of comfort and technical solutions.

Mr. Lefebvre wanted it to be aerodynamic and Bertoni took inspiration from the graceful shapes of a swan, an incredibly beautiful black swan. It was different: being so low, it also revolutionized the way of understanding the automobile. There were no running boards because you no longer had to "get into the car": you just had to sit on board, in the large and comfortable armchairs with which it was equipped.
The torsion bar suspension guaranteed comfort and road holding. Combined with front-wheel drive, it made it unbeatable and uncatchable (and it was no coincidence that it was the car of gangsters and later of the “maquis”, the French partisans), its aerodynamics allowed it to travel 13/14 kilometers with a liter and made it travel at the edge of 100 km/h.

The car was officially presented on April 18th and was announced with three engines: 7, 11 and 22 (which was the French fiscal horsepower), four and eight cylinders, even if the latter never went into production, later replaced by the six-cylinder “15”.
The Traction Avant was produced in almost 760 thousand units that were bodied, in addition to the sedan, also as a limousine, family, coupé and roadster, the latter two designed by Jean Daninons, future founder of Facel Vega.