Citroen Type A Saloon 1921 - World Of Classic Cars -

Citroen Type A Saloon 1921

The Citroën Type A was produced from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris and was the first Citroën produced. During World War I, André Citroën was producing munitions and as early as 1917, Citroën investigated the development of a light car under the direction of Jules Salomon. Under the designation 10HP Type A, the car had a water-cooled 1327cc four-cylinder engine and an output of 18hp with a maximum speed of 40 mph. The chassis had inverted quarter elliptic springs at the front and double quarter elliptic at the rear. Braking was on the rear wheels only controlled by a hand lever with a foot pedal operated transmission brake. After a slightly hesitant start in 1919, sales took off in 1920, during which more than 20,000 cars emerged from the factory in a single year. With a production rate of 100 vehicles a day, Citroën became the first mass production manufacturer in Europe.