Citroen Type 7 Ou la la
Juan and Johanna Uhlmann
Citroen automobiles began In 1934.
Citroen presented their first front-wheel drive cars and started a revolution in auto production
Andre Citroen was very successful in drawing the public`s attention with elaborate publicity campaigns. In 1922, airplanes wrote the name “Citroen” in the sky over Paris; in 1925 the name “Citroen” could have been read on the Eiffel tower: 200,000 lightbulbs were necessary and several kilometers of cabling!
Andre Citroen advertised his products not just to adults. Soon he produced toy cars to capture the attention of children – his future customers. The first words he wanted them to be able to speak were: “Mama, Papa, Citroen”.
Within a short period the Traction Avant Type “7” was developed – a car that was radically different in all respects to other cars of the time: self-supporting uni-body, front-wheel drive, torsion bar suspension, to mention only the most important features. The first plans even called for an automatic two-speed transmission – a feature that had to be dropped. The most significant feature was that the car was about 20 cm lower than its predecessors and contemporaries – with equal or even more interior space. Thanks to the low center of gravity and front-wheel drive, the Traction Avant has superb road-holding.
During a car show, Citroen showed a publicity film in which you can see a new Traction Avant being pushed over the edge of an 8 m high cliff. It lands on its nose, is thrown back, lands on its nose again, and sits on its four wheels after rolling. Only one window is broken, all doors open and close. The car drives under its own power!