The floating-power engine, which is used around the world today, is developed in 1932 by US engineers on the basis of studies conducted by French researchers. The objective is to place the engine on rubber shims so that vibrations are no longer transmitted to the chassis and the rest of the car. The invention captures the imagination of André Citroën, who buys the exclusive licence for Europe.

At the Paris Motor Show in October 1932, the C4 and C6 are placed by the 8, the 10 and the 15. The "Rosalies" as the cars are known, break several international records at the Linas-Montlhery aerodrome.

As the French automotive industry begins to feel the effects of the economic crisis gripping America at the beginning of the 1930s, André Citroën rebuilds the Javel plant in five months - between March and July 1933 - without interrupting production. At the same time he begins work on a new car that will be a milestone in automotive history:
the Traction Avant.

In 1934, when cars were still built from a wooden structure covered with metal parts and fixed to a chassis, with the engine bolted on directly, wheels mounted on stiff axles and brakes operated by cables or rods, André Citroën creates the modern volume production car, as it is built today.

In addition to its front drive wheels, the Traction Avant has an all-steel monocoque body, an engine mounted on a Silentbloc and independent front and rear wheels. It is designed to take into account the distribution of weight and the flow of air around and under the floor.

What car by a leading marque would fail to recognise itself in that definition today? It is clear that the Citroën Traction Avant showed the way to carmakers the world over.

André Citroën hopes that the new car will enable his company to ride out the crisis. But he is too optimistic. Although the new car arrives on the market in April, he is forced to step down as manager of the company at the beginning of 1935.

A man of great foresight and exceptional creative talent, André Citroën was always ready to innovate with new projects and ideas. He understood that the car would be used for both work and leisure and that it would be available to the masses. He was one of the prime movers of this revolution.

The company is taken over by Pierre Michelin and Pierre Boulanger, the second son of the right-hand man of Edouard Michelin, head of the tyre firm based in Clermont-Ferrand, central France. The men from Michelin came to Paris in 1934 to assist André Citroën. After his death, they continue to manage the quai de Javel plant, a magnificent showcase of glass, steel and concrete that houses a diamond: the Traction Avant. But the diamond is still uncut. It must be finished and polished before it can reveal the splendour of which it has already given a glimpse.

At the price of many sacrifices, Citroën returns to the ranks of leading carmakers from 1937. The legend of the Traction is on the move!

Pierre Michelin dies in an accident at the end of 1937 but the company can already look to the future with confidence. A number of studies are initiated for new models, leading to the 15CV, queen of the road in 1938, then the TUB van in 1939. The 2CV is scheduled to arrive on the market in the same year but, when World War II breaks out, the management team at quai de Javel are forced to abandon their dream of a small popular car, a dream that was on the point of becoming reality. Military production takes priority. But the phoney war is succeeded by the sadly fated French campaign, the flight of the refugees, and the occupation.

At the end of the war, Citroën starts reworking US lorry engines and puts its plants back to work again. The first post-war vehicles to carry the double chevron are lorries intended for French troops and for the authorities, who are in great need of transport to rebuild the country.