Citroen Innovations that Changed the Car Industry for Good

In early May around ten thousand Citroën enthusiasts attended CitroMobile 2018 in The Netherlands. Designed to celebrate everything about the iconic French vehicle manufacturer, there were over 170 international stallholders selling a wide variety of merchandise, activities to join in with and a huge range of cars on display, from the classic Citroën DS to some of the newest models. With such a broad variety of new and old Citroën cars present, it was a great time to see not only how Citroën cars have developed but consider the innovations it has introduced that changed the automotive industry for good.

Front-wheel Drive

Citroën didn’t invent front-wheel drive, but it did create some popular cars and vans in the early 20^th century that helped introduce it to the wider automotive market before many of its rivals. The Citroën Light 15 from 1934 was one of the first to do so, while the Citroën H van produced in 1947 was one of the first commercial vehicles to use front-wheel drive too. Both these models also had unibody construction rather than a separate chassis, which for the Citroën H van provided it with more load space than its rivals.  

Aerodynamics

The Citroën DS really stood out when it was first produced in 1955 and for the following twenty years. Another front-wheel drive car, its striking design and aerodynamic lines were its standout feature. This was also the first mass-production car to offer disc brakes and it went on to evolve into a truly iconic car. It even inspired the highly innovative Citroën SM, which was essentially a sportier version.

Rain Sensing Wipers

Believe it or not, the Citroën SM featured some of the first ever automatic rain sensing windscreen wipers when it was produced between 1970 and 1975. These were nowhere near as sophisticated as the modern-day ones that have become commonplace on many new cars. A control circuit in the SM adjusted the wiper delay based on the electrical current draw of the wiper motor, as wipers use less effort and therefore electricity when gliding over a wet windscreen. However, the Citroën SM was fairly expensive and not too common, though it was well ahead of its time.

Adaptive Headlights

The SM also had six headlights when it was released, that were adaptive in that they levelled themselves based on input from the steering wheel. Again, in the 1970s there were no other cars with this feature even though it is commonplace these days. So much so that in the USA the adaptive, moving headlights were replaced by sealed beams that only turned on and off as regulators didn’t know how to deal with them.

Fully-Active Suspension

Moving closer to the modern day, the Citroën C6 from 2006 was one of the first to actually have fully-active suspension. There were other production cars that claimed to do so but it was the addition of AMVAR to its Hydractive 3+ setup that made it properly fully-active. This enabled the Citroën C6 to adapt to road conditions and driving styles with computer controlled variable absorbers which altered suspension stiffness.

There have been many more examples of Citroën innovations throughout its existence and there are bound to be plenty more in the coming years with the rise of electric cars and other advancements in technology. Discover some of the latest innovations with the range of new Citroën cars for sale at Robins and Day. 

Image courtesy of iStock.