These days we tend to take many mechanical systems for granted when deciding to purchase our new set of wheels, often we’re more preoccupied with levels of creature comforts and/or safety, and of course the sticker price.
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But being a tad old fashioned I’m fascinated with almost everything else.
And it’s ‘London to a brick’ that in the bread and butter division, the top value vehicle will prove to be Front Wheel Drive, (FWD).
Today many people seem to credit this innovation back to legendary engineer, Sir Alec Issigonis, and his ground breaking Mini 850 of 1959 and all its subsequent variants right through to the larger 6 cylinder Austin Tasman/ Kimberley’s of the early 1970s.
So for many, it may come as a surprise to learn that the FWD concept has been with us in mass produced vehicles as far back as the early 1930s, with Citroen’s Traction Avant setting the pace.
Sure there were a few lesser luminaries in contention for ‘first’, such as DKW models of the 1930s, Alvis in 1928 and even the Yanks in 1929 with the impressive Cord L29.
Citroen, in tandem with their FWD transmission, also introduced their then revolutionary welded monocoque chassis into mass production, a concept now virtually universal in the motor industry today. This design alone saved 70 kg of steel per vehicle, and as you would expect found plenty of armchair critics concerned about safety issues.
In an era before crash tests were even a thought bubble in the minds of well meaning bureaucrats, Citroen drove their new baby off a cliff to demonstrate the body’s inherent resilience!
And so the slinky/rakish and low slung (so low slung in fact that running boards became extinct), the ‘Traction Avant’ hit the market running in 1934, and continued in production right through to the mid 50s.
Other advanced features such as independent front suspension, courtesy of torsion bars, contributed to excellent handling, and the overall design and light weight, gave the market a car good for a genuine 100 kph, with a frugal economy burn of 10L/100 km from its 1.6 L-1.9 L donk and considered good for the day.
All this coupled with the bonus of above average interior space, thanks to space freed up by the flat floor layout, ensured the Traction Avant became a land mark vehicle with over 760,000 being built between 1934-1957, and earning the model the worthy tag of, “Reine de la Route”, (Queen of the Road) in its domestic market.
Ah… those romantic, chic and stylish French, what will they think of next? But that’s another typically French story in itself.
The year was 1955, when I first set eyes on its successor, the space age looking DS, surely a symphony in sheet metal, but that’s another story!
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