Citroen Traction Avant

Citroën Traction Avant Tyres

Bibendum Tyres

40cm Rim Size

Millimetric Radial

400mm Rim Size

On the 18th of April 1934 the world was first shown the Citroen Traction Avant also known as the Light 15. This ground-breaking car featured a host of revolutionary features including monocoque construction, front wheel drive, all round torsion bar suspension and hydraulic brakes. The Citroen Traction Avant 7A (32bhp) was quickly followed by the more powerful 7B (35bhp) and 7 Sport (46bhp).

In 1935 the Citroen Traction (Light 15) 7C was launched with 36 bhp replacing the Citroen Traction Avant (Light 15) 7B. The 7 Sport was replaced by the 11 Légère (light) during this year. 1935 also saw the introduction of the Light 15 11CV which was wider and longer than the Light 15 7C and was fitted with a 1.9 litre engine. The Citroen Traction Avant (Light 15) 7 series came with either 140x40 or 150x40 Michelin SCSS tyres.

1938 saw the biggest change to the Traction Avant family with the introduction of the 15 Six or Big 15, this car came with a 2.8 litre 6 cylinder engine which necessitated a longer bonnet with cooling grilles fitted. This year also saw the fitment of the Michelin Pilote wheels with 165x400 Michelin X tyres. This entailed widening the wheelarches by 5cm. The Citroen Big 15 15S came with a 185x400 Michelin X.

During its lifetime the Citroen Traction Avant was available as a 4 door saloon, faux cabriolet, roadster, commerciale (with possibly the first production hatch back), coupe and familiale (with 8 seats!). The high development costs of the Citroen Traction Avant (Light 15) were directly responsible for the death of André Citroën and its consequent takeover by Michelin who owned Citroën until 1974. The iconic Citroen Traction Avant (Light 15) which wowed the world with its tenacious handling, magnificent comfort and advanced styling (so good even W.O.Bentley owned one!) ceased production in 1957.