Citroën Traction 11B from 1938. Four cylinders, 1,9 L.
Power: 11 HP
Max. speed: 120 km/h
The 11 B-light reappeared very little changed from the 1941 cars except that headlight surrounds were now painted rather than finished in chrome. By the end of December 1945, the year’s production had reached 1,525. Currency depreciation is evident from the car’s listed price, which had been 26,800 francs in January 1940, and had risen to 110,670 francs in October 1945.
In 1945, the car was the only model available from Citroën, and as another sign of the times, customers not able to supply their own tires were charged an additional 9,455 francs for a set of five. In May 1946, presumably reflecting an easing of the war-time tire shortage, the car could at last be purchased with tires at no extra cost, but by now the overall price of an 11 B-light had risen to 121,180 francs.
The 11 B-normal model, differentiated from the 11 B-light by its 3,090 mm (122 in) wheelbase, experienced a similar drop in sales volumes between 1939 and 1941, with just 341 cars produced during the first seven months of 1941.
After the war, a single 11 B-normal was produced in 1946, in time to be presented at the October 1946 Paris Motor Show: production built up during 1947, but during the car’s ten-year post-war production period, the shorter 11 B-light would, in France, continue to outsell the 11 B-normal.
The Citroën Traction Avant is the world’s first unibody front-wheel-drive car. A range of mostly 4-door saloons and executive cars, were made with four or six-cylinder engines, produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. Approximately 760,000 units were produced.
