CITROËN TRACTION AVANT 137928 1951 Black FSV197

Make
CITROËN
Model
TRACTION AVANT
1911cc LIGHT 15 (11CV)
Chassis No.
137928
Year
1951
Colour
Black
Reg no
FSV197
1951 CITROËN TRACTION AVANT LIGHT 15 (11CV)
Registration no. FSV197
Chassis no. 137928 Engine no. 20318
Engine 1911cc straight 4
15 bhp
top speed 62 mph
Gearbox 4 speed manual
The Traction Avant, French for "front wheel drive", was designed by André Lefèbvre and
Flaminio Bertoni in late 1933 / early 1934.
The Traction Avant's structure was a monocoque body. Most other cars of the era were
based on a separate frame (chassis) onto which body was built.
This method of construction was viewed with great suspicion in many quarters, with
doubts about its strength. A type of crash test was conceived, taking the form of driving
the car off a cliff, to illustrate its great inherent resilience.
The novel design made the car very low-slung relative to its contemporaries.
The suspension was very advanced for the car's era. The front wheels were independently sprung, using a torsion bar and wishbone suspension arrangement,where most
contemporaries used live axle and cart-type leaf spring designs. The rear suspension
was a simple steel beam axle and a Panhard rod, trailing arms and torsion bars attached
to a 3-inch (76 mm) steel tube, which in turn was bolted to the "monocoque".
Since it was considerably lighter than "conventional" designs of the era, it was capable
of 62 mph, and 28 mpg.
Left-hand drive versions were built in Paris, in Forest, Belgium, in Copenhagen, Denmark for the Scandinavian market, and right-hand drive cars in Slough, England. The
Slough version of the 11L was called the Light Fifteen . This confusing terminology
referred to the British fiscal tax rating of the time, which was higher than the French, so
the 11CV engine was 15HP in England.