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NTV Média
  • 3/19/2024

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00:00 Behind you, this legendary cabriolet.
00:03 There shouldn't be much left, I think.
00:05 What's fascinating about tractions,
00:07 which is also what pushed me to collect them,
00:09 is that it's a car that declines.
00:11 Yes, exactly.
00:12 Olivier, I'm delighted because
00:21 as soon as you get into the automotive world,
00:23 I was going to say, there's a mechanical side.
00:25 That's clear, garage atmosphere,
00:27 but inevitably, we come back to the comfort of our living rooms
00:29 and our libraries.
00:31 It's important, of course, to practice,
00:33 but also to have a more cognitive approach,
00:36 a more technical approach.
00:38 As a book author,
00:40 you fell into the Citroën universe when you were very young.
00:43 It was already childhood with your parents
00:46 driving you around in Citroën.
00:48 Yes, that's a bit like that.
00:50 I was swept into Citroën from my early childhood.
00:53 When I was born, my parents drove tractions.
00:55 When I got my driver's license,
00:57 it was my first car.
00:59 You didn't have a license to drive a traction.
01:01 No, I didn't.
01:02 But the first purchase was the traction.
01:04 No, I still had the family's traction
01:06 that was destined for me.
01:08 So I started like that.
01:10 And then, I'm a bit of a collector.
01:12 I wanted to have all the models in the range.
01:14 It's a light car.
01:16 I was looking for a normal car, the A15,
01:18 a complete catalog of tractions.
01:20 And I've always been passionate about writing,
01:22 about photography as well.
01:24 So the idea of making a book came up quite quickly.
01:27 It became an evidence.
01:29 I started to write a few notes.
01:31 Little by little, it took the shape of a book.
01:33 My first big book, which was published in 1984.
01:35 And since then, I've never stopped reading books about Citroën.
01:38 Exactly, we had this spirit.
01:40 So I was going to say, dear Olivier,
01:42 in the last century, it's true that we were either Peugeot in the families,
01:45 or Citroën, or Renault.
01:47 And it's true that our parents didn't disobey the rule.
01:49 It was a whole life dedicated to the brand.
01:51 It's true, it was quite connoted.
01:53 Yes, we were competing with the 203,
01:56 and then the DS with the 403, 404.
01:59 But Renault was a little bit different.
02:01 They didn't have anything in common
02:03 with this competition between Peugeot and Citroën.
02:06 There were big cars at Citroën.
02:08 Of course, behind you, this legendary cabriolet Traction.
02:11 There must not be much left of it, I think.
02:13 What's fascinating about Tractions,
02:15 which is also what pushed me to collect them,
02:17 is that it's a car that declines in its model.
02:19 Yes, exactly.
02:21 It was a basic sedan.
02:23 And then it declined into a cabriolet, a coupe,
02:26 commercial, family, limousine,
02:28 a whole variety of models.
02:30 That's why it makes you want to collect them.
02:32 And the cabriolets, of course,
02:34 are the charm of the Traction, cabriolets and coupes.
02:37 They were built in about 4,000 copies at the time.
02:40 And we estimate that there are about 400, 450 left.
02:43 At this point, yes.
02:45 It's a constant number,
02:47 because there are a lot of replicas today.
02:49 That's the problem.
02:51 But otherwise, it's a car that has a crazy charm
02:53 and that people love.
02:55 So, precisely, on the Citroën universe,
02:58 we will also find two mythical vehicles.
03:01 The DS, of course.
03:03 The SM, which was able to mark a time
03:05 with a real signature,
03:07 I was going to say,
03:09 the spirit of the European high-end,
03:11 and also the French.
03:13 Citroën has evolved.
03:15 Today, it's important, in a context like History Auto,
03:17 to take the roots, I was going to say,
03:19 of the good old engine,
03:21 the good old body,
03:23 the old design.
03:25 I was going to say that,
03:27 because Citroën is a brand that has always been
03:29 ahead of its time in terms of technology.
03:31 So, they were playing on two aesthetic levels.
03:33 Citroën was supposed to be beautiful,
03:35 but they were also ahead of their time in terms of technology.
03:37 The hydraulic suspension technology of the DS.
03:39 It was a fantastic revolution.
03:41 And then the Traction was an incredible technological revolution.
03:43 The monocoque, the hydraulic brakes,
03:45 the front-wheel drive wheels,
03:47 all the things that make
03:49 modern cars today.
03:51 Exactly.
03:53 So, if we want to understand everything,
03:55 is there a book that would be mythical to buy,
03:57 to put in the library, to offer?
03:59 I've done a lot of big books,
04:01 big monographs on Traction,
04:03 on the DS, on the SM.
04:05 But what I'm showing today are books
04:07 that are rather focused on a very beautiful iconography.
04:09 A century in the making.
04:11 I've had great photographers work
04:13 on the Traction, and I can tell you
04:15 that we present cars with the look of today.
04:17 And it gives books that are very, very aesthetic,
04:19 with references to the time, of course.
04:21 But the idea is to make...
04:23 I want you to keep it.
04:25 Citroën, a century in the making.
04:27 ...the Traction before,
04:29 with today's photographic technology.
04:31 It gives very, very beautiful books.
04:33 We also have some on the Traction.
04:35 There are very, very beautiful photos.
04:37 What I like is that...
04:39 And I like the comfort of the show.
04:41 The book is there for that.
04:43 Sometimes you don't need to walk around.
04:45 A little fire in the fireplace.
04:47 Let's say it's complementary.
04:49 A little cognac, we'll stay French.
04:51 A glass of brandy at the end of the fire.
04:53 It's very complementary,
04:55 and I think it's interesting.
04:57 It allows you to go deeper into your knowledge of the car.
04:59 There is so much to know about the history of men
05:01 who have worked on these cars.
05:03 What I also value when I write a book
05:05 is to talk about people who have made these cars.
05:07 Because it doesn't come out of nothing.
05:09 And if it does, we realize the importance
05:11 and the charisma of the owner,
05:13 who has really lasted for a very, very long time.
05:15 It's a real cult.