Up for auction at 10:30 AM EST on Sept 20th is a rare 1953 Citroën Traction Avant 11 Familiale, the long-wheelbase, three-row version of Citroën’s landmark front-wheel-drive Traction Avant. This is a terrific parade car, allowing all the kids (9 passenger capacity) to ride in the parade with the owner, while folding the jump seats is perfect for weddings. See our family’s comprehensive photos & videos from years of events and shows at this Google Photo link.

The Familiale is considerably less common than the standard Traction Avant sedan and was designed to carry a larger number of passengers with folding auxiliary/jump seats in the passenger compartment. Its combination of unusual proportions, remarkable interior space, and Citroën’s pioneering engineering makes it one of the more distinctive variants of the Traction Avant family.

This example has been in the same family since 2003 and is now being offered following our parents’ deaths. It is a running car and has been enjoyed and maintained over many years.

The odometer reads ~53K miles. The car was repainted prior to my father’s purchase, and documentation relating to the repaint accompanies it. A collection of service, repair, and restoration records is also included, including beautiful photographs from weddings, parades, car shows, and much more! 

Cosmetically, this is an older restored/maintained automobile, and a cleaning sponge left on the trunk lid blemished the paint in one spot. It presents as an attractive and highly unusual example that can be enjoyed as-is while leaving room for a future owner to improve individual details according to taste.

Prospective buyers should review the photographs, records, and auction information carefully and are encouraged to inspect and test drive the car in person at Carlsen Gallery (Freehold, NY) before the Sept 20th auction. 

Introduced in 1934, the Citroën Traction Avant was one of the most technically important production automobiles of its era, combining front-wheel drive, unit-body construction, independent front suspension, and a low center of gravity at a time when most automobiles remained conventionally constructed. The extended-wheelbase Familiale added remarkable passenger capacity to that advanced platform and today represents a particularly interesting choice for the Citroën collector.

This car is being sold at NO RESERVE through Carlsen Gallery in Freehold, NY on September 20, 2026 at 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time. See website for bidding options, including live, telephone, online, & absentee bidding. We encourage you to navigate to the website before 10:30 AM to ensure you have a bidding account set-up and ready.

 

For a collector seeking something beyond the more commonly encountered Traction Avant sedan, this 1953 Familiale offers an uncommon opportunity to acquire a running, documented example with more than two decades of known family ownership.