A true pioneer in the automotive world, the Traction Avant Citroen was the first mass-produced vehicle with a body chassis entirely made out of steel and front-wheel drive.
The Bologna Autostoriche Club is exhibiting the vehicle at Auto e Moto d'Epoca 2021. By virtue of the passion and competence of some of its advisors, in 2019 the club also became a "Garage Traction Avant Italia" historical register, combining its mission of promoting automotive heritage in Bologna with the need to review and record all the Traction Avant Citroens circulating in Italy.
The vehicle on show at the stand representing the two missions of the club is a magnificent 1949 Traction Avant Citroen, exceptionally preserved and extremely rare, especially in Italy.
More specifically, this version is the 11BL Legere model, one of the more representative of the 759,111 Traction models produced from 1934 to 1957 in three basic models with 7,11, and 15 taxable horsepower, thirteen distinguishable series and six chassis variations.
Beyond mechanical innovation, the Traction Avant owes its fortune to the voluptuousness of its lines, fruit of its low chassis and its gently aerodynamic shapes.
The livery of the model on show is classic black, one of the most popular colours of the manufacturing catalogue; the version of the case is the "flat trunk", that is the version with the spare wheel on sight on the back produced until 1952, when it was replaced by the version fitted with a posterior case (“curved trunks”).
