MakeCitroën
ModelTraction Avant 11B Légère
Year1957
ColorBlack
Interior Grey fabric
Engine1.9 litre, 11 D Perfo
TimingOverhead valves, side camshaft
Fuel systemZenith carburetor
TransmissionFront-wheel drive, 3-speed manual gearbox
Horsepower57hp
Weight960kg
Price18,000€
Options Robri body accessories
Other information We are in the presence of a French car icon, the Traction Avant, born in 1934 and produced until 1957. A staggeringly modern car when it first came out, it's an absolute kitsch today, but always with the same common denominator: driving pleasure. The 11 légère, as its name suggests, tips the scale at 150kg less than a normal 11.
Equipped with its "perfo" engine, which was only slightly improved on the DS19 and the first ID19s, the "power" of which is insignificant but with generous torque, you can cruise along in third at 40km/h, press the tiny accelerator pedal and all you have to do is play with the steering wheel to keep up with modern traffic, especially if you're going round a bend, because she loves bends! There is almost no body-roll and, if necessary, the rear-end will loosen up like a good GTI ... we're talking of a car engineered before the war...! unbelievable!
The priest who ordered this car new and who cherished it all his life must not have subjected it to this kind of treatment, and she must have dearly missed it. On the other hand, here we are today with just 63,000km on the odometer, which are probably original but unfortunately the maintenance invoices that could attest to this must have stayed at the bishop's palace in Aurillac. She behaves like a new car without any play or parasitic noises.
Even my friend Michel Prudhomme, a great Ferrari V12 specialist, fell under her spell. He gave me a call one day saying: "come and see what I've got in the garage..." His friend from Cannes, a collector and the car's second owner, had even gone so far as to keep the car's original Cantal registration... I arrived in an Alpine, and it was love at first sight... I've never regretted it.
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