Auto Express – August 07, 2019

22 7August2019

INaleafycornerofthenorth-eastParissuburbs,

asoireeisgettingstartedinacarparkbehindone

ofthetypicallygrandhomesofLeVesinet,theFrench

capital’smostexclusiveneighbourhood.

Thismeetingisthebeginningofwhatwillturnintoatwo-

dayParisienparty.Specifically,it’sabirthdayparty,anda

bigoneatthat.It’sacelebrationofthiscity’smostFrench

ofcarcompanies,andAutoExpresswasinvited.

Itis,ofcourse,Citroen’scentenary,because2019marks

100 yearssinceindustrialistAndréCitroen’sarmaments

factorybegantomakecarsforaFrancethatwasrebuilding

itselfinthewakeoftheFirstWorldWar.

ThecompanythatbeganintheParisdistrictofJavelhas

notenduredastraightforwardcentury,butthesurroundings

thathavebeenchosenforthis100thbirthdaycelebration

smackofsuccess,andarealongwayfromthegrimy,

post-warenvironmentofCitroen’sbeginnings.

Tokickstartproceedingswe’vebeeninvitedtodrive

someofthemoreiconicvehiclesfromthecompany’sback

catalogue,althoughsomeofthereallyoldstuffremainsout

ofreach.Forinstance,inthissmallcarparkthere’snoTypeA,

thevehiclethatstarteditallbackin1919.Butmanyofthe

essentialsareaccountedfor,includingtherevolutionary

modelthattookcontrolofthecompanyoutofAndré

Citroen’shandsinthefirstplace:theTractionAvant.

Releasedunderafloodofdifferentnamesfordifferent

marketsfrom1934onwards(TractionAvantliterallymeans

front-wheeldriveinFrench;Citroen7wastheveryfirst

version’sofficialname),itwasquiteunlikeanythingelseon

theroadsatthetime.Thiscarwasoneoftheveryearliest

pioneersoffront-wheeldrive,alsofeaturingmonocoque

INSIDE STORY

Tackling the motoring issues that matter

Intheyearafterthe gunsfell silentatthe endoftheFirstWorld

War,AndréCitroen produced his firstcar.Acentury laterthe firm

hefounded iscelebrating its 100th birthday.We joined the party

10 0YEARS OF

CITR EN

JamesBrodie

[email protected]

@jimmybrods

PARTYDECORATIONS

Pariswasleftinnodoubt
which car manufacturer
wasmarking 100years

BLASTFROMTHEPAST

Jamesclimbsintothe

2CV,oneofthe most

iconic Citroen cars