Citroen Traction Avant

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There is one thing you can never take away from the French: they always like to do things their own way - ‘Vive la difference!’.

And they don’t come more different than Andre Citroen, the gifted but enigmatic engineer who founded what was to become Europe’s largest car manufacturer by 1919. Wilfully (indeed suicidally) ambitious, he was so far ahead of his time that he went bust in 1934 and had to be rescued by Michelin before dying of stomach cancer in 1935.

What pushed him and his firm over the edge was the extraordinary Traction Avant which positively bristled with new-fangled innovations. Launched in 1934, it was not only the world’s first mass-produced front-wheel drive car but also one of the first to feature a welded steel monocoque body, rack-and-pinion steering, hydraulic brakes, synchromesh transmission and independently sprung front suspension.

Considerably stronger, lighter and lower slung than conventional designs of its era, it initially had a 1.3-litre 32bhp engine which was capable of 62mph and 28mpg economy with exemplary handling and stability. Only available in black, the 11B was launched in 1937 with a 1.9-litre four-cylinder engine producing 46bhp and a top speed nigh on 70mph. Production resumed after WW2 and lasted until 1957 when the Traction was replaced by the equally revolutionary DS after an astonishing 760,000 examples had been sold.

From 1952, the car gained a much larger boot, an addition which made the car more practical to use but lost some of the charm of earlier models. This 1951 example therefore has the desirable small boot and was purchased by the previous owner in France many years ago. Used during the summer at his French home, it was then imported into the UK in 1989 where it has remained since.

Paris built, it has clearly had some restoration work over the years and remains in sound condition, the vendor reporting that everything works as it should and adding that the brakes work well. Fitted with the correct Michelin tyres all round, this usable example is exactly the model to have, with the larger, more powerful engine and the attractive smaller boot. It is taxed until August 2015 and MOT exempt.

Highly effective, even in today’s traffic, the Traction Avant was so far ahead of its time that it makes an ideal everyday classic despite being well over 60 years of age.