CITROENTraction Avant 11B Cabrio 1938 - 1939

　　André-Gustave Citroën was a revolutionary French engineer and left a precious legacy to the automotive industry: the Traction Avant, or TA for short.

　　The French automaker already had a vast experience in the car industry. He founded his own brand in 1919 and gathered as much information as he could from other carmakers. That led to the development of the Traction Avant. While it was not the first front-wheel drive vehicle, and neither was the first built on a monocoque bodywork (when everyone else was building cars on body-on-frame solutions), it was the most successful. So much that, even if it was almost bankrupt when Cit Citroën roen launched the TA in 1934, the car paid the automaker's debts in just two years. Unfortunately, André Citroën died in 1935 and didn't have time to enjoy the full success of its last brainchild, the Traction Avant.

　　Even after the company's founder passed away, the automaker's leaders and the engineering team felt obliged to carry on the legacy left behind. Thus, in 1938, Citroën launched the open-top version of the Traction Avant. That was a very tricky situation since the engineers had to return to the chassis solution instead of the monocoque one due to the lack of a roof. Unlike the regular four-door version of the car, the Cabriolet featured a pair of rear-hinged doors and a canvas roof. In addition, the windshield could have been folded down for a complete open-air experience.

　　The cabin was fitted with a bench for two people, while the area in the back was used to store the canvas roof. Citroën already understood that this was a car built for pleasure, not utility. That's why it didn't bother making it a four-passenger vehicle.

　　Citroën developed the front-wheel drive system in a different way, with the engine placed behind the gearbox. That solution allowed the TA to sport a very long wheelbase, with the front axle pushed forward. But since the carmaker tried to offer a fuel-efficient vehicle, it only installed small, inline-four engines under the hood. Still, thanks to the low weight of the vehicle, it was very nimble.