1956 | Citroën Traction Avant 11 BL

Details and Story of the 1956 Citroën TA BL11

Introduced in 1934, the Traction Avant is considered one of the most mythical cars of the 20th century. Designed by an Italian sculptor of genius Flaminio Bertoni, it owes its genesis to a daring industrialist, André Citroën who will put everything on it and will lose its wealth with its creation. In addition to proposing the front wheel drive system, it will offer an all-steel body without chassis and many technical innovations. She will become a national symbol during her 27-year career. 80 years later and at the dawn of the 100 years celebration of the brand, fans and collectors of Citroëns have never been so numerous.

• The Traction Avant, French for "forward traction", was designed by André Lefèbvre and Flaminio Bertoni in late 1933 / early 1934. While not the first production front wheel drive car - Alvis built the 1928 FWD in the UK , Cord produced the L29 from 1929 to 1932 in the United States and DKW the F1 in 1931 in Germany - it was the world's first front wheel drive steel monocoque production car. Along with DKWs 1930s models, the Traction successfully pioneered front wheel drive on the European mass car market. The Traction Avant's structure was an arc-welded monocoque (unitized body). Most other cars of the era were based on a separate frame (chassis) onto which the non-structural body ("coachwork") was built. Monocoque construction (also called Unit Body or "Unibody" in the US today), results in a lighter vehicle, and is now used for virtually all car construction, although body-on-frame construction is still suitable for larger vehicles such as trucks. This method of construction was viewed with great suspicion in many quarters, with doubts about its strength. A type of crash test was developed, taking the form of driving the car off a cliff, to illustrate its great inherent resilience. The novel design made the car seem very low-slung relative to its contemporaries — the Traction Avant always possessed a unique look, which went from appearing rakish in 1934 to familiar and somewhat old fashioned by 1955. The suspension was very advanced for the car's era. The front wheels were independently sprung, using a torsion bar and wishbone suspension arrangement, where most contemporaries used live axle and cart-type leaf spring designs. The rear suspension was a simple steel beam axle and a Panhard rod, trailing arms and torsion bars attached to a 3-inch (76 mm) steel tube, which in turn was bolted to the "monocoque".Since it was considerably lighter than "conventional" designs of the era, it was capable of 100 km/h (62 mph), and consumed gasoline / petrol only at the rate of 10 litres per 100 kilometres (28 mpg-imp; 24 mpg-US).The development costs of the Traction Avant, combined with the redevelopment of its factory, were very high and Citroën declared bankruptcy in late 1934. The largest creditor was Michelin, who then owned Citroën from 1934 until 1976. Under Michelin, Citroën was run as a research laboratory, a test bed for their radial tires and new automotive technologies.In 1954 Citroën's experiments with hydropneumatic technology produced its first result, the "15H"—a variant of the 6-cylinder model 15 with a self-leveling, height-adjustable rear suspension, a field trial for the revolutionary DS released the following year.Directly after the introduction of the Citroën ID, a simplified and more competitively priced version of the still revolutionary DS, production of the Traction Avant ended in July 1957. Over 23 years, 759,111 had been built, including 26,400 assembled in Slough in England, 31,750 assembled in Forest near Brussels and 1,823 assembled at Cologne in Germany. The total reflects the production stoppage during World War II.

Specifications

Bodywork 

• Length : cm (in): 438 (172.)
• Width : cm (in): 164 (64.6)
• Height : cm (in): 154
• Wheelbase : cm (in) : 291 (114.6)
• Weight: kg (lb) : 1150 (2440)

Mechanics.

• Displacement : straight-four 1911 cc, (116.7 cu in), front-mounted  
• Valve gear : 8
• Fuel system : 1 Solex carburetor
• Gearbox : 3 speed, manual
• Drive wheels : front-wheel drive
• Maximum power : 58 bhp at 4000 rpm
• Maximum torque : 122 Nm at 2200 rpm
• Maximum speed : 120 km/h (74 mph)

Τhis 1956 Citroën Traction Avant 11BL resided in France, Burgundy area, prior to being driven to Greece in the mid 1980's. She was acquired by the two co-owners Byron E. Riginos & Athanase J. Yannoukos, from a local Garagist, apparently the nephew 0f her diseased sole owner, *hence in constant ownership for 33 years. The epic drive from Burgundy to Greece took place in a cold February month, without heating, nor windshield washers, a Once in a lifetime experience. * [click here for more info and pictures: https://3cg.club/2020/12/12/1957-citroen-traction-avant-bl11-legere/ ] 

This particular 1956 Traction, among the last production examples before the introduction of her replacement, namely the revolutionary DS-19/ID-19, is a rare just two owners from new- car. She was found for sale by its original owner in Burgundy, France in October 1987. The first owner an elderly Citroën mechanic used the car to visit his cousin every now and then and this was the only use, hence an extremely low kilometrage and 100% original car. Otherwise the car was kept in her heated garage and receiving through the 30 years under his custody, all the love and care of her expert Citroën specialist mechanic owner.

When the owner reached 80 years of age and was not permitted to drive anymore, sold the -as new condition- Traction Avant to her present owners. After a fluids change the new owners drove the car from France to Athens, Greece, a 1.000 miles/1.650 kilometers trip through rough weather of February 1988. The only incident was a flat tire which was replaced at a local Michelin dealer. Since then the car was sparingly used for classic car events and concours d’ élégance, adding no more than 4500 km to the real 82.000 km of the previous owner.

During all those 33 years of ownership in the dry, sunny 🌞 Athenian weather conditions, except for regular periodic services, the only addition to the car was the missing heating hose which was an extra item that was never installed from new; in addition, the 2 front “bavettes” i.e. the mudguards, plus a fresh period correct, new black 6-Volt battery. A pair of period French Marshall spot lights were also added, in order to have a better visibility at night, and finally a new set of 4 Michelin X radial tires were imported from France, while the spare is still the replacement tire, which was bought in France in lieu of the flat we had at the start of our epic winter trip from Burgundy to Ancona, Italy and then via Ferry-Boat to Patras and eventually arriving without mishaps to our homes in Athens.

She has since been preserved painstakingly, driven occasionally mainly for participating to Historic Vehicles events. She has recently received an oil change, a four brakes overhaul, a replacement points and bavettes (mudflap), a coolant flush, replacement bulbs, and a replacement 6 Volt battery. Finished in black over two-tone gray cloth, this example is powered by a 1.9-liter inline-four paired with a three-speed manual gearbox. This Traction Avant Légère is now offered in Greece with free shipping and importation to Germany or France as well as transferable Historic Vehicles registration.

The exterior is finished in black and features chrome bumpers, front and rear doors hinged at the B-pillars, gravel guards, and amber rear turn-signal lenses on the C-pillars. Light enclosures have been fitted with replacement bulbs, per the seller while the originals Yellow French. bulb accompany the sale along with an extensive parts list valued in excess of €4.000.

Cream-colored 16″ steel wheels with matching hubcaps are wrapped in 165-series Michelin X radial tires. The unibody of the Traction Avant utilized rack-and-pinion steering as well as a four-wheel independent suspension with front and rear torsion bars. The brakes on all 4 wheels  were overhauled  in preparation for the sale.

The cabin is upholstered in two-tone gray fabric with matching door cards over tan-gray carpeting. Needless to say that this TA comes with its originally fitted seat covers in burgundy color. Amenities include sun visors, a dome light, crank windows, a rare ROBRI anti-theft gear lever lock, and a dash-mounted plus a side door rearview mirrors.

A two-spoke steering wheel fronts a dashboard-mounted gear lever and Jaeger instrumentation including a 152-km/h speedometer and auxiliary gauges of Ammeter and fuel level. The five-digit odometer displays 80k kilometers (~50k miles), approximately 4.300 kilometers of which have been added by the sellers. Total Mileage is believed to be true.

The 1.9-liter inline-four sends power to the front wheels via a three-speed manual gearbox. Within the past six months, an oil change reportedly was performed, the fuel lines cleaned and filter were replaced, mechanical components were greased, the coolant was flushed, and the battery was replaced.

Suspension components, together with additional photos of the underside are provided in the gallery. 

This unique, rare, and hard to find in such original FIVA Certified A/2 condition 1956 Citroën  TA, is offered regretfully by her two long time keepers (due to old age and medical issues), to a discerning Citroen aficionado or Collector or an Institutional Party as for example a Private or Public Museum.