In today’s post, I will be focusing on what many believe to be the pioneer for how all modern cars are built today. The car I am talking about is the 1934 Citroën Traction – Avant.

This car originated in France and was first manufactured by Flaminio Bertoni and André Lefèbvre. It was first released in France in late 1933 and early 1934. The 1934 Citroën Traction – Avant is so influential because it was the fist car to be built using a unibody (or monocoque) construction. This car is not only influential, but it is also extremally rare. The reason this car is so rare is that it was one of the the first car to have a fully independent suspension for its front-wheel drive despite having an inline engine layout. This car combines rarity with meaningful innovation, making the 1934 Citroën Traction-Avant both a pioneer in the field of automobiles and a diamond in the rough for all serious car collectors.

The 1934 Citroën was the first car to ever use a welded unibody (or monocoque) structure. Most cars before the Citroën used separate frames for the structural body (Chassis, engine, etc.) and the non-structural or “coachwork” body (the cabin of the vehicle). But, the 1934 Citroën decided to deviate from this common method and use one body to encompass both the cabin and the structural body. This made the car much lighter and more fuel efficient. It also drastically decreased the cost of manufacturing, making the retail price much more compatible to the middle class. These factors significantly influenced the way other car companies manufactured their vehicles.  In fact, the 1934 Citroën’s unibody was so influential that almost all of the cars on the road today have a unibody design. The 1934 Citroën Traction-Avant innovated the automobile on an economic and engineering platform, making it one of the most influential designs in the history of automobiles.

Although the 1934 Citroën is not the first car to have front-wheel drive, it was one of the very first ( and vey last) to use an inline engine layout for a car with front wheel drive. An inline engine is one where with all cylinders aligned in one row and have no offset. This layout came to be a dead end over time as cars began to overwhelmingly favor a transverse engine layout, which is an engine that is mounted in vehicle so the crankshaft is perpendicular to the direction of travel. This configuration makes a front-wheel drive much more efficient, which is why these engines are most commonly used in cars with front wheel drive. The fact that the 1934 Citroën Traction-Avant has this inline front-wheel drive layout makes the car extremally rare due to the fact that this format was basically disavowed in the 1940s.

The 1934 Citroën Traction-Avant deserves all the recognition in the world for its innovation and impact on future car designs. Unfortunately,  most people do not know of it due to its rarity. All cars on the road today have a unibody design thanks to the 1934 Citroën, so it is only fair that I shine a light on this historical car.

Just a fun fact (For all you enthusiasts out there): “Traction- Avant” literally means “front traction” in French. By having that in the car name, this car became one of the first automobiles to have a description of the vehicle in its title.