17 Citroën Traction Avant

Everyone’s idea of a pre-war French car – although they were made until the late ’50s – and popular in the UK: 25,000 of the 800,000 built over 23 years were assembled in Slough. Low-slung, stable and roomy, the Traction was a front-drive, unitary construction pioneer and arguably the most influential single model ever, with a specification that included rackand-pinion steering, hydraulic brakes and fully independent torsion-bar suspension… in ’34!

They came as Légère and Normale saloons or long-wheelbase Familiale and Commerciale, the latter an early hatchback. There was a choice of colours, but a Traction almost has to be black, clichéd though it is. Most feature a long-stroke 1911cc ‘four’; post-war 15CV ‘sixes’ are rarer and more refined, but all have a surefootedness that belies an 80-year-old design. Drop-tops make big money, but plenty of four-pots fall within our £15,000 limit.