PDF - Mullin Automotive Museum

Faux Cabriolet 1933
TRACTA TYPE D2
2
HISTORIC PROFILE
Traction Avant
Tracta founder Jean-Albert Grégoire
developed rare, experimental
cars that led research in traction avant, or
front-wheel drive.
During the 1920s engineers set their sights
on front-wheel drive and experimented
with it in competition. In Europe the
champion of this technology was
Jean-Albert Grégoire’s Tracta. After
ceasing production in 1933, Grégoire sold
licenses to produce the constant-velocity
joints used on his innovative cars to
André-Gustave Citroën, who designed the
mass-produced Traction Avant in 1935.
Grégoire was an avid sportsman and a
graduate
of
the
exclusive
École
Polytechnique, where he earned a
doctorate in law. Despite his education,
what attracted him most was automotive
technology.
He
began
his
own
automotive company, Tracta, in 1926 and
presented his first front-wheel-drive project
with a 1.1-liter SCAP (Société de
Constructeur Automobiles Paris) engine at
La Coupe de l’Armistice later that year.
After moderate success on the track, the
3
HISTORIC PROFILE
marque’s first two models were exhibited
at the Paris Auto Salon in 1927. In
subsequent years, the Tracta offerings
were modified very little; in fact, they
remained completely unchanged from
1931 through 1933. At the time, three
models were listed in the catalogue: Types
D, E, and F. With their long hoods and short
passenger cabins pushed back as though
perched on the rear axle, theTractas were
quite charming—and even exuded a
certain power. The Mullin Type D2 is one
such model, having been bodied by one
of the smaller coachbuilders, Carrosserie
Automobile C. Ringlet.
4
OWNER HISTORY
Georges Meurice, a Belgian, ordered this
car, Chassis 533, entrusting it to one of the
smaller
coachbuilders,
Carrosserie
Automobile C.
Ringlet, in Seraing, near Liège. Chassis 533
returned to France during the 1960s only to
pass through the hands of several
well-known collectors, including Adrien
Maeght, Bruno Vendiesse, and Laurent
Rondoni, before it was sold to the Mullin
Collection during a 2010 Weekend of
Excellence event at Reims.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
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PROFILE
Coachbuilder
Chassis number
Body type
Number made
Acceleration
Top Speed
C. Ringlet
533
Faux Cabriolet
110
0
80
6
BODY | CHASSIS
Length
13' 7"
Height (Ground line to highest roof)
4' 10"
Width
5' 9"
ENGINE
Number of cylinders
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Displacement
Engine capacity & output
Overdrive
4
1600
unavailable
0
7
© Mullin Automotive Museum
All photographs courtesy of Michael Furman