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When introduced in 1934, the Citroën Traction Avant was a revolutionary car that would go on to mean a great deal for the brand. We talked about that at length earlier this year, when the model celebrated its 90th anniversary. Now we’ve also come across one, just on the street. So, since we discussed the Traction Avant earlier this year, we will now go a little deeper into the specific, spotted version.

Citroën Traction Avant is not actually called Traction Avant

Although the name Traction Avant – also used by Citroën – is often used to refer to this model, it is not the name the cars themselves carried. The official model name consisted of a number, which referred to the number of fiscal horsepower class the car fell into in France. The old French fiscal horsepower (chevaux fiscaux or CV) system was a way of taxing vehicles based on a calculated value, which gave an indication of engine strength.

However, this was calculated in a complicated way, so the actual horsepower rating was much higher than the fiscal horsepower rating. The well-known Citroën 2CV was also named after its fiscal horsepower class, but in the case of the Traction Avant, the letters “CV” were omitted from the type designation. The number of the Traction Avant may have been supplemented by the name of a version.

The spotted specimen

The one we came across in Hoorn, for example, is a Citroën 11 Normale. This particular example is from 1954 and has been in the Netherlands since 1983. It has also been with its current owner since 2004. As far as one can tell based on these photos, this example still looks very nice.

The Citroën 11 Normal

From the beginning, the Citroën Traction Avant also came as an 11. This variant had a 1.9-liter four-cylinder, as opposed to the 1.3-liter (later 1.5- and 1.6-liter) from the 7. Above it was the 15/6, which had a 2.9-liter six-in-line on board. The Normale, also known as the 11, had slightly different bodywork from the standard model. The Normale had a longer wheelbase (3.09 meters versus 2.91 meters) and also a slightly wider track width. The 11 also came as a Légèr (light), which had the same dimensions as the 7.

Citroën 11 as first hatchback

In 1938 appeared the Familiale, an extra-long body variant with an extra row of seats. As Citroën 11, this model was also available as a Commerciale, with the extra row of seats giving way to an extra-large boot. The Commerciale was intended as a kind of luxury commercial vehicle, which, thanks to the rear seat, could also be used as a passenger car. A kind of Berlingo avant la letre. After the production stop in World War II, the Commerciale underwent an update: it received a tailgate hinged at the top, which opened the entire rear. As far as we can tell, this makes the Citroën Traction Avant the very first hatchback.

Long production run for Citroën Traction Avant

The Citroën 7 did not return after the production stop and thus remained in production until 1941. Top model 15/6, however, remained no less than until 1956. The Citroën 11 was allowed to continue a little longer, through 1957. This makes the 11 the longest-produced variant of the Citroën Traction Avant. Its successor was already ready in 1955: the Citroën ID/DS. Another groundbreaking model.