Citroen Traction Avant

The Citroen Traction Avant is a front-wheel drive saloon car built by the French maker Citroen from 1934 to 1957, and the model that carried the layout into mass production. It combined front-wheel drive, independent front suspension and rack and pinion steering with a welded unitary body in place of a separate chassis, which let it sit far lower than its contemporaries. Offered as four-door saloons, longer Commerciale and three-row Familiale versions with four- and six-cylinder engines, it was named after its front traction rather than an official model name, since the cars were badged by their fiscal horsepower rating. Roughly 760,000 were built, the first front-wheel drive cars made in six-figure numbers, and the design was shaped by Andre Lefebvre and Flaminio Bertoni.