As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Traction Avant, Citroënvie member Glen Konorowski brought to our attention an article featured in Classic & Sports Car back in 2021 telling the re-creation story of a legendary Traction Avant 15-6.
Titled “Why this is no ordinary Citroën Traction Avant” it begins with a description of the wonderful experience driving the 6-cylinder Traction, and then moves to the history of the car pictured here.
Stemming from the adventures of rally enthusiast João de Lacerda who was very fond of the Traction Avant, João became aware of a 15-6 tweaked for performance by Philippe Rochat – well-known in the Traction Avant world.
João commissioned Rochat to build something similar, and entered it in the 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954 Rallye Monte-Carlo. João also raced and hillclimbed in the Traction at various events. João got together with Rochat to do the Tour du Maroc. Rochat cut louvres into the hood to prevent overheating in Africa and installed disc brakes from a Maserati.
While that Traction became a museum feature at The Museu do Caramulo in Portugal, João’s grandson, Tiago Gouveia decided to re-create the ‘performance Traction’ in the late 1990s by taking a Traction 15-6 found in France and adding enchantments that included; rebuilding the engine, balancing the crankshaft, using Porsche valves, installing a Porsche oil pump, a pair of Weber carburetors, electronic ignition, an electric fan, an oil can to retain the oil from the engine breather and Audi half-shafts.
Tiago and his family enjoy the car to this day and often compete in rallies.
Read the full article here: https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/why-no-ordinary-Citroën-traction-avant