Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

“Every automotive enthusiast the world over ought to go down on their knees at least once a year, preferably February 2, to give thanks for the birth of Andre Citroën…Citroën shows flashes of engineering genius so pure that you stop short and wonder why on earth car designers persist in doing things any other way.” – David Owen

This year Retromobile celebrated the centenary of the Automobiles Citroën. In this short space I can only highlight some of the history of the company and its products, but fortunately there is an enormous amount of material printed and on the web that you can find.

Let’s start with the man himself. André Citroën was born in 1878 and died too young in 1935. He was graduated from the foremost engineering school in France, the Ecole Polytechnique, in 1898. In 1904 he began producing a double helical gearset that he found while on a trip to Poland to visit family. In 1909 he acted as a consultant to auto manufacturer Mors, which initiated his work in automobile construction. He served as an engineering officer in the French Army in WWI. His unit was hit with artillery shells from German fire, and could not respond because…they lacked ammunition. He approached the French government and proposed that he build a factory to produce artillery shells. He got loans to build a factory on the Quai de Javel, near the Eiffel tower, and soon was turning out 35,000 shells a day. When the war was over, he was left with a large factory and a lot of employees, and in just four months, he turned to manufacturing his own car.

A bust of André Citroën seen at Retro.

First was the 1919 Type A, Europe’s first mass produced car. In the first 2 weeks he took 16,000 orders and was soon producing 100 cars a day. It was the first low priced car to have electric lighting and a self starter as standard equipment. Next came the 1922 5 cv, which sold 81,000 units in five years, extraordinary at that time, but he priced it so that many people could afford it. His goal was to make car ownership affordable to every family in France, and in that he succeeded.

There were other cars in the prewar period, the B 14, C4, C6, 8,10, and 15 Rosalie, but the most famous was the Traction Avant. Most people would recognize the Traction Avant, which started production in 1934 and lasted until 1957. Citroën wanted a revolutionary design, and he got it, with a unit all steel body with streamlined chassis, front wheel drive, torsion bar suspension, and great drivability. He reached out to the Budd Company in Philadelphia to use their patents for the design.

One of the most interesting things about the company history is that while Citroën produced radical, original, advances in design, engineering, production, and marketing, his attitudes, ideas, and influence lived on after his death, through a series of successive takeovers and mergers. Partly this was due to the fortunate acquisition of the firm after bankruptcy in 1934, by its largest creditor, Michelin, and the fact that Michelin left existing management in place to continue what they were doing with no outside interference. This worked in part because Michelin was a creditor and not a competitor. Part of this was also due to Citroën ’s goal to design a model differently and in such a way that it would have a twenty-year lifespan (e.g. the Traction Avant, 2 CV, and DS).

Immediately after WWII, there was a big need for a small economical vehicle, and the 2CV was introduced (the prototypes were designed before WWII and hidden in haystacks so the Germans couldn’t find them). The design brief was for a car that could carry 2 farmers and a 50 kilogram sack of potatoes and a carton of eggs in the back seat that would survive after being driven over a plowed field! Ultimately, 5,114,961 units were delivered.

In 1955 the DS was introduced and it was a sensation, often called “The Car of the Century.” It had a hydropneumatic system to control the suspension, brakes, steering, gearchange, and height adjustment. It would take a whole column to properly describe the D. At the time, the French press said, “Une bombe automobile vient d’eclater.” At the debut at the Paris Auto show in 1955, by the end of the week 80,000 orders were taken! It has been called one of the most beautiful cars ever made. By the end of production, 1,455,746 units were sold. I bought mine in 1969 and still have it.

While still under Michelin control, the factory went on to produce the Ami 6 (1961-9), the Ami 8 (1969-78), the Mehari (1968-87), the iconic H Van (1948-81), the GS (1970-86), the M35 and GS Birotor (1969-75), and the CX (1974-91). After the Peugeot takeover in 1976, they still continued with innovative designs, such as the XM (1989-2001), Xantia (1993-2002), and C6 (2005-2012).

This was a Citroen showroom for decades. Eleven years ago when I visited Paris it was bustling. Apparently, Peugeot has closed it. I cannot imagine what they will do with the building as it is purpose built as a Citroen showroom.

Citroën was a marketing genius. He pioneered the “controlled leak” of new models, massive newspaper ads, test drives, and publicity, such as outfitting the Eiffel Tower with his name in lights, 250,000 of them, which could be seen all over Paris. He started a car insurance company with lower premiums for Citroën owners. He created a taxi service with his cars in 1921. He put road signs all over France with his logo on them. He staged the first automobile crossings of what was then the unexplored wilderness, the Croisiere Noir, Jaune, and Blanche – the first automotive crossings of Africa, Indochina, and the sub-Arctic.

An original factory built model with its original box – New Old Stock!

He built a toy factory to build pedal cars and model cars for French children, and his goal was that their first 3 words would be “Maman, Papa, and Citroën .” He created a massive dealer and service network, and then published an owner’s manual and repair catalog to establish a fixed cost of a repair nationwide. Ultimately, he had plants in eleven foreign countries.

Early on, Citroën was also focused on providing employee benefits which was unheard of at that time. During WWI, the workers at the factory were mostly women, and he provided a support system that covered pregnancy, birth, and paid leave while nursing. His work was recognized in the government introduction of food rationing cards. This made him popular with employees and ensured a stable work force.

The grave of the Citroën family in the Cimitiere Montparnasse.

André Citroën died of stomach cancer in Paris in 1935. I visited his gravesite while attending Retromobile. It is located in the Cimitiere Montparnasse, just in back of the enormous Tour Montparnasse. The gravestone is extremely plain and simple. The funeral was led by the Chief Rabbi of Paris, and Citroën was laid to rest, “The Jew of Javel,” as the malevolent Louis Renault called him.

In 1976, to avoid a second bankruptcy, Peugeot acquired 90% of the Citroën capital from Michelin. Today, it is controlled by a board controlled by the Peugeot family. Prior to that, Citroën had acquired both Panhard and Maserati, certainly two of the greatest names in the history of the automobile. Panhard was closed down and Maserati passed to De Tomaso after the Arab oil crisis put paid to the market for high speed grand touring cars such as the Citroën Maserati, aka the SM.

The information booth for the Citroën exhibit.

Today there are Citroën clubs all over the world, 200 in France alone, and one here in the San Francisco area too. Every 4 years, there is an ICCR meeting (International Citroën Car Club Rally), which typically has thousands of cars. It will be held August 5-9, 2020 in the Polish city of Torun.

The last D series car was sold in the U.S. in 1972, and the last SM somewhere around 1974. As a result, most Americans would not be familiar with the Double Chevrons. However, we can now import cars that are over 25 years old, so all is not lost. When I was at Retromobile, I got to spend a day blasting around the villages of Vexin in a Citroën CX, which is now number one priority on my “must have” list, the CX being, in some eyes, the last “real” Citroën.

I encourage you to do a search on the history of Citroën , which is much more than I can cover here. I think you will be surprised and amazed. Below is a brief taste of the wonderful world of Citroën, including production cars, rally cars and prototypes.

Historic Citroën production and record cars

10 HP Type A (1919).

Another type C, followed by a Traction Avant.

A Rosalie 10 hp.

The famous Petite Rosalie which set distance records in 1933.

Standard DS, followed by a Mehari.

1971 SM Chapron Mylord convertible.

An SM at the booth of tuner SM2.

CX 25.

CX two liter.

The C6 (2005-2012), 23,384 produced, the last real Citroen?

Citroën Rally Cars

1969 factory DS rally car that won the Morocco Rally.

2017 C3 WRC.

1990 Xsara kit car.

Citroën Concept Cars

Prototype 2016 CX with hybrid power train.

Prototype from 2008, GTBY.

2006 C Metisse.

The Tubik, a modern H Van prototype.

1956 C10, called the beetle.

1972 Bertone Camargue.

1980 Karin, designed by Trevor Fiore.

Captions and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

While Jonathan Sharp went after the Italians at Retro, Brandes Elitch did a Citroën biopic history, and Hugues Vanhoolandt told everyone he had dibs on covering the fantastic collection of Chapron DS models, the likes of which we have never seen before. Smart Guy. As part of the commemorations of the centenary of Citroën there were more than fifteen Chapron bodied Citroëns, all part of the same collection. Chapron exercised his talent mainly on the DS and each variation was present. Below, not only will you find out what wrath caused the damage to the lead photo, but Hugues did not forget some of the other outstanding vendors.

The first DS cabriolet shaped by Chapron was called ‘La Croisette’ for the famous pedestrian promenade in Cannes in the south of France. First shown at the 1958 Paris Salon, this version was built until 1962. Here is a 1961 example based on a DS 19.

A coach appeared in 1959 and was called ‘Le Paris’, only produced in 9 units until 1960.

Here is a 1963 version of the coach ‘Concorde’.

In 1960, Henri Chapron extended his offerings with a cabriolet 2+2 called ‘Le Caddy’. 34 units were produced between 1960 and 1968.

A 2+2 coupé was showed for the first time at the 1960 Paris Salon, the DS ‘Le Dandy’. Some fifty of these cars were built between 1960 and 1968.

The ‘Palm Beach’ four seater cabriolet appeared in 1963 as a replacement of the ‘La Croisette’.

A new four seater coach was presented at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and appropriately called ‘Le Léman’, here on a 1967 DS 21.

Alongside the transformations operated by Chapron on the DS, the coachbuilder from Levallois, near Paris, also built for Citroën what is called the ‘cabriolet usine’ or works cabriolet between 1961 and 1971. This version was part of the official Citroën range.

Apart from the various cabriolets, coaches or coupés, a sedan was also proposed by Chapron, called ‘Majesty’. Here is a 1966 model.

In 1969, the ‘Majesty’ gave way to a new sedan called ‘Lorraine’. Only 19 examples were produced until 1974.

In 1971, Chapron tried to expand his line with a cabriolet version of the SM, called ‘Mylord’. But its high cost and the oil crisis will compromise its success and only six examples were built.

Hell hath no fury like…that of a woman scorned. In 1960, the coach ‘Le Paris’ is replaced by the ‘Concorde’. This particular car, from 1964, was vandalized by the wife of the owner during their separation and has never been restored …

Below is a brief portofolio of some of my other favorites…

This tricycle from the Italian company Prinetti & Stucchi of Milan dates back to 1899. It is with this company that the young Ettore Bugatti began his career in the automotive world. He modified the tricycle by adding a second engine and took part with some success to some competitions in Italy and France.

From the same year is the famous ‘La Jamais Contente’, the first car to reach 100 km per hour. Conceived and driven by Belgian Camille Jenatzy, it was so modern for the time with its aerodynamic body and its electric powertrain. It is presented here by the ‘Musée de Compiègne’, near Paris where it is usually exhibited.

Twenty years later, the famous Bentley make was born. Here is the oldest surviving Bentley, known as EXP2 because of being the second Bentley built, a 3 Liter model presented at the 1919 Olympia Motor Show. Bentley celebrates its centenary this year and will be featured in many classic car events around the globe.

Every show has to have its ‘barn find’ exhibit. Here is a 1952 Aston Martin DB2 that will be restored after a thirty year sleep.

London based classic car dealer Fiskens was showing a pair of Aston Martins DB4 GTs. Here is serial number 0124R, the first of eight lightweight DB4 GTs, delivered new to Equipe Endeavour and driven to victory at Goodwood by Stirling Moss in 1960.

The second DB4 GT is one of 19 DB4 GT Zagatos, serial number 0181L, delivered new to Dr Elio Zagato, son of the founder of the Zagato company, Ugo Zagato. The car has some unique features like the bonnet with an air scoop rather than the usual triple humps.

Aston Martin Works was showing a partially restored 1963 DB4 Convertible. Only 70 DB4 Convertibles were produced and this one is the sole to be powered by a DB4 GT engine. It is currently being restored in Newport Pagnell, at the same location where it has been built 56 years ago.

This 1963 AC Cobra was a works entry at Le Mans in 1963. Driven by Sanderson and Bolton, it finished 7th and first in the 4 to 5 liter class. Later sold to John Willment’s race team, it was campaigned in 1964 by British gentleman driver Jack Sears.

The Ford GT40 succeeded to the Cobra on the race tracks. This example is numbered GT40 P/1087. It seems that John Willment, who owned the rights to the JWA name, had enough parts to build some more Mark I GT40’s after the works production ceased. This is one of these cars.

The last attempt of Ford in endurance racing was with the P68 built by Alan Mann for the 1968 season. Here is one of two surviving examples.

This is a very special Jaguar XK120, bodied by Stabilimenti Farina. It was an order from the Belgian Jaguar importer to star on the Jaguar stand at the 1952 Brussels Motor Show.

A pair of BRM Formula 1 cars were on sale by William I’Anson. Wearing #48 is the P48 driven by Dan Gurney in 1960. Gurney won a race in Australia with this car. Number 5 is the 1962 P578 driven by Richie Ginther in 1962 and 1963. Ginther was second in the 1962 F1 World Championship with this car.

A strong field of Porsche competition cars was on show at Rétromobile. Among them, this Porsche 904, 904-108, with its 1964 Tour de France livery when it finished third overall with Buchet/Linge.

In 1966, the same Robert Buchet bought 906-114. He took part in Le Mans with it but did not finish. The car then had a successful career in France and is still active in historic racing.

This 1969 Porsche 908/02 s/n 009 was entered in endurance races in 1969 and 1970 with considerable success with Rudi Lins, Gérard Larrousse and Helmut Marko behind the wheel.

The Porsche 917-037 has the particularity to be registered in Monaco and can be driven on open roads.

This Porsche 936 is the fifth and last 936 built, not by the works but by the Kremer brothers. It was driven in period by Rolf Stommelen and Stefan Bellof.