Mathis (csi.ch) says this fine late-model Citroen 11CV is a regular visitor in his neighborhood in Switzerland, and often spends the night outside. Looks like it’s none the worse for it. Let’s take a closer look, including that alloy gearbox hiding behind the grille.
Yes, that’s the gearbox, since the Traction Avant, and the DS/ID that replaced it, had their engines behind the front axle, the reverse of the Audi’s configuration. And if you look closely, that’s the transmission’s input shaft (I assume) protruding into the grille opening for the hand-crank starter, a feature many French cars kept, some until the early seventies, like the Peugeot 404.
This is the “Light” version of the 11CV, with a shorter wheelbase. It was more commonly in use as a personal vehicle, as the “Normal”, with tis extended rear passenger compartment, was popular for taxi service and governmental work, and such. We covered some of the other details of the Traction Avant here, and Mathis’ full set of pictures are here at the CCCohort.
Thats a nice car I was just surfing thru the cohort pages and saw this lo and behold I cruise back to facebook and see this post, Great to see your week off is so productive Paul the cohort idea is saving a lot of shoe leather and its gtreat to see more and more shots of interesting classics showing up.
That is a very sharp car, I like the black and burgundy two-tone. Thanks for posting this one!
I like the way the color break is radiused at the front rather than straight – a nice little detail. That two-tone paint scheme looks just fine on that car.
Thank you for this! The Traction-Avant and the 1940/41 Continental are my all-time favorite cars. I have a 1/25th scale model of each in my bedroom. The stuff of happy dreams!
That is a gorgeous example, And I agree with Tom K – the paint work really shows it off.
Looking at it makes me feel so guilty. I know I shouldn’t, it’s a love that could never be, but I want it.
I saw dozens of these while serving in Saigon and Bien Hoa, Vietnam in 1968. Seemed like the most popular family car in Vietnam no doubt because of the French connection. Most of the time if you saw one stop, at least 10 or 12 people would be getting out. But then it was not unusual to see a family of 4 riding on a motor scooter or cycle as the average family did not have a car. I have always been fond of these cars and would also love to own one.
Goodness, I want one of these – if only for being able to scare the wits out of some of my buddies who would think the Gestapo has arrived to take them away when I would pull up to their houses! My gray fedora and trench coat would be perfect.
Other than that, I still want one, as these are, to me, the greatest cars France has ever produced and still look great today.
In case you’re still interested more than 10 years later. . . .
I found the current owner’s perspective on the economics of restoring old cars refreshingly truthful.
I lament the passing of suicide doors. Such a useful feature to give up just because some people can’t manage to assure that their door is latched before starting off.