Traction Avant 15 six : 1938-1956
production : 50.602
The Company in 1938
- Pierre boulanger becomes chairman and managing director of Citroën. A fine arts graduate, he enjoys hands-on contact with his work. He spends as much time at the test track or in the research laboratory as he does in his office on the Quai de JAvel. He is also a keen aviator, much like André Lefebvre with whom he sets up the 2CV project.
- Annual production : 68 109 vehicles.
The models in 1938
- The Paris Motor Show previews the 15-Six, a Traction Avant with a 6-cylinder engine. Its 2,867 cm3 engine develops 77 bhp at 3,800 rpm. Rated 16 bhp, the vehicle is equipped with a 3-speed gearbox and consumes 13 litres/100 km. Spacious, comfortable, fast (135 km/h) and easy to drive, the remarkable roadholding properties of the 15 earn it the name of "Queen of the Road".
- Built as a saloon and family vehicle, the 15-Six is produced in 50,602 examples between September 1939 and July 1956. Of this total, just 2,000 are pre-war. The Traction Avant is the most popular production car of its time.
In the news in 1938
- In France, the Front Populaire collapses.
- Austria is annexed by Germany. Germany, Italy, France and Britain sign the Munich Pact. European powers agree to German seizure of Sudetenland.
- The laboratories of Du Pont de Nemours discover nylon and perlon.
- The franc is devalued.
- Graham Greene writes Brighton Rock and Cecil Day Lewis Overtures to Death.