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The post-war Traction

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Traction Avant 15 Six (1951)

The Traction range was complete and fully available as France went to war in 1939. This was far from the case when the war ended six years later...

Though significantly reduced, activity at the Javel factory continued during the first years of the Second World War. Citroën continued to assemble the 15 until 1940 and the saloon version of the 11 until 1942. But production stopped in 1943 and 1944, apart from the construction of a handful of heavy trucks. The workers remaining at the plant manufactured tooling, bicycles and other useful objects.

After the liberation of Paris, activity at Javel suffered from a number of problems. For a start, the upgrades the engineers wanted to make to the Traction proved impossible. But first and foremost, following the bombing of the plant in June 1940 and the partial destruction of administrative buildings, the tooling and the plans were lost.

In 1945, the management decided to relaunch the 11 – a model with which it was thoroughly familiar – and produced 1,525 units in the second half of that year. With its utilitarian trim the “new” Traction was the mirror image of the pre-war version inside, but a number of exterior details were different. Because engineers had to make new drawings, new design features appeared that today make it possible to distinguish between pre-war and post-war Tractions.

The 11 was upgraded in 1946, gaining a bonnet with side louvers, a new bumper and aluminium strips on the doors. The 15 also made a reappearance in the company catalogue. Citroën manufactured a total of 12,600 vehicles in 1946.

A period of calm followed in which the Traction continued its remarkable sales career. Upgrades became fewer and further between. The 15 gained a new gearbox in 1947 and new carburettors in 1950. Then, in 1954, Citroën introduced a revolutionary suspension system on the 15. Based on hydro-pneumatic technology, the new system used a pump and suspension spheres to maintain the vehicle at constant height regardless of load.

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