One Vehicle, One Story: the Citroën Traction 15/6 Cabriolet, a war survivor and loyal supporter from day one
Citroën Traction 15/6 Cabriolet: the car that should never have existed
Only three remain in the entire world. And this one is one of them. The Citroën Traction 15/6 Cabriolet presented at Rétromobile 2026 by Jean-Louis Poussard, president of the La Traction Universelle club, is not rare in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a car that was never marketed, whose birth owes as much to an order book as to the twists and turns of history.
The story of the 15/6 Cabriolet began in 1938, when Citroën launched the 15 version of its Traction Avant. The cabriolet, the high-end incarnation of the model, was due to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1939. That show would never take place, for one simple reason: the Second World War had just begun.
Seven examples had been assembled from bodies stored in the basements of the Javel factory. Most of them would be completed after the war, probably by Citroën dealers from 1946 or 1947 onwards. None has a serial number: they were never produced on the assembly line. This one received an individual type approval number from the Mines department in 1960, when its owner at the time wanted to regularise it as a one-off. Three have survived to this day. This is one of them.
Traction Avant: a mechanical revolution by Flaminio Bertoni
To understand what this particular car represents, one must first appreciate the place of the Traction Avant in automotive history. Launched in 1934 with 7 and 11 hp engines, it represented, from the moment it appeared, an absolute break with everything else on the market. “When the car came out in 1934, it was a revolution,” confirms Jean-Louis Poussard. “Compared with the cars of the time, it was extremely modern.”
Technically, it was the first large-series production car to bring together so many innovations at once: front-wheel drive, of course, which gave the model its name, but also hydraulic brakes, a monocoque body, a very wide track for improved roadholding, and particularly refined aerodynamics for the period. Sold for 23 years, from 1934 to 1957, it never seemed ridiculous alongside its competitors, even in its final years of production.
But the Traction Avant is not only an engineering achievement. It is also a work of art. It was designed by Flaminio Bertoni, a trained sculptor, whose hand can be seen in every curve, every handle, every detail of the bodywork. “Just looking at the shape of the handles, it’s a work of art,” observes Jean-Louis Poussard. “Everything on this car is a work of art,” confirms François Allain. A formal timelessness that largely explains why young visitors to Rétromobile still stop in front of it today, fascinated, without always knowing why.
Traction 15/6 Cabriolet: from L’Auto-Journal to 50 years of loyalty
The story of this particular example truly began in 1966, when a small classified ad published in L’Auto-Journal caught the eye of a certain Denys Joannon. “Citroën Traction Cabriolet 15/6, 1939, for sale, 6,000 francs.” The car found no buyer. Denys Joannon, however, seized the opportunity. For a Citroën enthusiast, it was an obvious deal.
What he bought that day, he would keep for fifty years. Denys Joannon became one of the first members of the club in 1968, took part in the club’s first official outing on 11 May that same year, and exhibited this car at the very first Rétromobile in 1976, in the former Gare de la Bastille. The car and the club would grow together, crossing the decades side by side, loyal to one another in the way one remains loyal to things that truly matter.
Joannon was also known for his remarkable collection of DS cabriolets, highly prized in Citroën circles. A collector with character, for a car with character.
La Traction Universelle and Rétromobile: 50 years of unwavering loyalty
In 1976, when Rétromobile opened its doors for the very first time in the former Gare de la Bastille, the La Traction Universelle club was there. The club had a 200 m² stand, displayed five cars and even sold spare parts. This 15/6 Cabriolet already held pride of place, as the centrepiece of a collection that was only just beginning to tell its story.
Fifty years later, the club has not missed a single edition. “That makes you one of the show’s record holders,” François Allain remarks. And rightly so: only three clubs can claim an uninterrupted presence since the first edition. La Traction Universelle is one of them.
The show itself has changed profoundly. “It has nothing to do with what it was 50 years ago,” observes Jean-Louis Poussard. At the Gare de la Bastille, it was mainly clubs and parts dealers. Today, Rétromobile has become an international show, where the cars are ever more beautiful, ever rarer, and where the public comes from all over France and beyond. But La Traction Universelle has remained. And every year, between 400 and 500 members who are seen nowhere else gather on the stand, as one gathers with family.
Citroën Traction Avant: a car you can still experience every day
The Traction Avant fascinates young visitors, but it also appeals to those looking for a classic car that can genuinely be used. Jean-Louis Poussard knows this well: “I’ve done 200,000 kilometres in Tractions. I have practically never broken down.” This reliability can partly be explained by the longevity of its mechanical components.
The front axle of the 15, for example, was not only fitted to the 50,000 examples of this model. It was later used on 500,000 Type H vans, Citroën’s famous utility vehicle. The engine from the 11 also powered the Type H. “That is why we were able to find so many Traction parts right up until the 1980s and 1990s,” explains Jean-Louis Poussard. A mechanical generosity that still benefits collectors today.
From this point of view, the Traction Avant remains one of the most accessible classic cars there is. Produced in more than 750,000 examples, it benefits from an exceptional spare parts network: bodywork, mechanics, upholstery. Today, a Traction Avant can be rebuilt almost as new, from engine to tyres, without having to chase down impossible-to-find parts. This rare accessibility explains the vitality of the club and its community, almost 60 years after it was founded. “Last year, we celebrated 90 years of the Traction at the Charade circuit, and we brought together more than 1,000 Tractions.” A thousand cars, one single passion. La Traction Universelle has not finished writing its story. And if science keeps making progress, as Jean-Louis Poussard says with a smile, perhaps we will all meet again for the show’s 100th anniversary.
Citroën Traction Avant: the ancestor of the DS, and of a certain idea of French genius
The Traction Avant reigned over French roads from 1934 to 1957. What succeeded it, in 1955, was no ordinary car: it was the DS. Another revolution, another break, another object of absolute modernity born from Citroën’s workshops and the imagination of Flaminio Bertoni. The same hand, the same genius, two eras.
To discover how the DS also crossed the history of France all the way to the highest office of the State, watch our episode dedicated to General de Gaulle’s DS 21 Pallas, displayed at Rétromobile 2026 on the DS Automobiles stand. And to go further into the history of the Traction Avant, the episode dedicated to the 1952 Citroën Traction BL awaits you in the “One Vehicle, One Story” series.
Discover the Citroën Traction Avant and many other exceptional vehicles in Rétromobile’s “One Vehicle, One Story” podcast. To make sure you never miss an episode, visit the Rétromobile website and all streaming platforms.