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Saloons & estates

Citroën Traction Avant

Flaminio Bertoni · 1934

The first car to prove front-wheel drive, unitary construction, and four-wheel independent suspension could coexist in a mass-produced saloon — not as a prototype, but as a factory reality.

Worth your time?4.5/5Yes.Drive the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
10:57in productionCh. 1 · First of its kind/ 10:57 · ceiling 15 min
6 chapters · 10:57Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.6 chapters · 1 min read · 10:57 planned

Read the brief

The Citroën Traction Avant redefined what a production car could be — not through novelty, but through integration. Its welded unitary body, front-wheel drive, and four-wheel independent suspension formed a coherent system. It did not chase speed or luxury. It solved for lightness, space, and real-world composure. Its influence is structural, not stylistic.

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Chapters & takeaways6
  1. 1:04
    First of its kind

    It was the world’s first mass-produced, semi-monocoque bodied, front-wheel drive car.

  2. 2:16
    Integrated engineering

    It pioneered integration of front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension into a crash-resistant, largely unitary, monocoque body.

  3. 3:31
    Lighter by design

    Its welded unitary body saved 70 kg in steel per car.

  4. 4:55
    Direct steering

    It was an early adopter of rack and pinion steering.

  5. 6:22
    Built for use

    It was produced as a range of mostly four-door saloons, executive cars, Commerciale, and Familiale models.

  6. 7:35
    Mass-produced reality

    Approximately 760,000 units were built between 1934 and 1957.

3 more chaptersFewer chapters
Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • unitary construction saving 70 kg per car
  • integration of front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension at scale
  • rack and pinion steering in mass production
  • packaging efficiency enabling longer cabin space
What does not
  • offer hydraulic power steering
  • provide crumple zones
  • use radial tyres
  • feature disc brakes
Drive it if
  • mechanical designers
  • automotive historians
  • structural engineers
Skip it if
  • daily commuters expecting modern NVH
  • drivers seeking dynamic agility
  • collectors prioritising rarity over influence
Who should drive it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

The Citroën Traction Avant is a French front-wheel drive saloon designed by Flaminio Bertoni and launched in 1934. It was built by Citroën as a range of mostly four-door saloons, Commerciale, and Familiale models with four- and six-cylinder engines.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It places the engine and gearbox ahead of the front axle, driving the front wheels directly. The welded unitary body/chassis integrates structure and skin. Four-wheel independent suspension absorbs bumps without transmitting them to the cabin. Rack and pinion steering gives direct, unassisted feedback through the wheel.

What it gets right

It gets structural integration right: the welded unitary body saves 70 kg per car. It gets packaging right: front-wheel drive frees cabin space. It gets suspension layout right: four-wheel independence improves ride on uneven surfaces.

What it does not

It does not offer rear-wheel drive dynamics or weight distribution. It does not isolate the driver from road inputs via hydraulic assistance or rubber bushings tuned for comfort over control.

What it changed

It proved front-wheel drive and unitary construction could work at scale. It shifted mass-production engineering from separate chassis-and-body logic to integrated structural thinking.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for engineers, designers, and historians studying how mass production absorbed radical mechanical layouts. It is not for drivers seeking contemporary refinement, power delivery, or crash safety.

Is it worth your time

Yes. It is the first mass-produced car to combine front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension, and a semi-monocoque body — a foundational machine for every modern saloon.

Same garage · Saloons & estates4 of 80
10:44
Citroën CXRobert Opron · 1974The CX is the last complete expression of Citroën’s pre-merger philosophy: hydropneumatic suspension, front-wheel drive, fastback form, and aerodynamic discipline. It succeeded the DS without imitating it. It won European Car of the Year in 1975. It was Robert Opron’s final and favourite design. It marked the end of the 'big Citroën' era that began in 1934.
10:06
Citroën XMBertone · 1989The Citroën XM is a pivotal failure: technically audacious, commercially inert, and stylistically isolated. It advanced hydropneumatic suspension into the electronic age — but lost the emotional and mechanical connection that made Citroën’s earlier flagships endure.
10:23
Citroën C6Jean-Pierre Ploué · 2005The Citroën C6 is an executive saloon launched in November 2005. It was designed by Jean-Pierre Ploué’s team to replace the XM, six years after the XM ceased production in June 2000. It draws directly from the C6 Lignage concept shown at Geneva in spring 1999.
9:12
Citroën GSRobert Opron · 1970The Citroën GS is a small family car designed by Robert Opron, launched in 1970 after winning Citroën’s 1967 internal Project G competition. It was built as a fastback four-door saloon and five-door estate until 1979. A revised version, the GSA, was produced from late 1979 until 1986 in five-door hatchback or estate body styles. Combined production reached approximately 2.5 million units. It has a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout and seating for five passengers. Noted for its aerodynamic body shape with a drag coefficient of 0.318, fully independent hydro-pneumatic brakes and self-levelling suspension, and air-cooled flat-four engine, the GS was styled by Robert Opron, with a low nose, a two-box silhouette, semi-enclosed rear wheels and a sharply vertical Kamm-tail. In 1967, having abandoned the ambitious Projet F begun by Bertoni and taken over by Opron, Citroën initiated a competition for a new mid-range model that pitted Opron and the Bureau d'Études against Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign. Both teams submitted designs for front wheel drive three- and five-door cars powered by flat-four engines. Opron's proposal carried the day, and his Project G eventually became the GS released in 1970. Some have claimed that Opron based the GS' shape on the Pininfarina Austin 1800 Aerodinamica Berline of 1967. Others assert that, while it may have been influenced by the Italo-English concept car, Opron's design was an independent work, and point out that Citroën has never acknowledged any link.
Up next in Automotive

Citroën XM

Bertone · 1989 · 10:06

The XM didn’t fail because it was strange — it failed because it was too Citroën for a world that had stopped rewarding strangeness.

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10:06