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Citroën 22 V8 - Salon Lion and Phantom of the Road

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Created on May 22, 2024

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

21

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

21

Citroën 22 CV Cabriolet (1934) - at the 1934 Paris Motor Show

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Front section with double bumpers, disguised headlights and new radiator grille

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Preliminary photo for the dealers: plaster model of the new front section

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - The only known photo of the test drives to date, here in Haute Provence at the Col de Bayard

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Citroën 22 CV Familiale (1934) - six-window saloon with nine seats

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Citroën 22 CV Berline (1934) - the normal four-door and six-seater saloon

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Citroën 22 CV Cabriolet (1934) - the only photo showing the V8 in a car

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Front axle with drive unit (digital reconstruction)

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Engine-transmission unit - The V8 had the advantage over an in-line six-cylinder that it was no longer than a four-cylinder

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - the only surviving light surround as a relic costing 5580 euros (auctioned by Osenat in 2019)

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Citroën 22 CV Monospace (1936) - Concept of a front-wheel drive car with V8 rear engine and rear-wheel drive

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - top speed 140 km/h!

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Citroën 22 CV Familiale (1934) - Illustration from a leaflet. Interesting: the side trim on the hood instead of under the windows

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - detail from the brochure: Familiale on the left, Coupé Long on the right, Cabriolet in the middle

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Citroën 11 CV (1934) - the four-cylinder engine that formed the basis for the V8, on its "floating" rubber mounts

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - The cross-section of the V8 engine reveals cross-flow heads and the central camshaft

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Citroën DS (1955) - discarded six-cylinder boxer engine by Walter Becchia

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Ford V8, which was allegedly installed in one of the test cars (Epoq'auto 2023)

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Ford V8, which was allegedly installed in one of the test cars (Epoq'auto 2023)

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Ford V8, which was allegedly installed in one of the test cars (Epoq'auto 2023)

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Citroën 22 CV (1934) - Ford V8, which was allegedly installed in one of the test cars (Epoq'auto 2023)

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Summary

Even before the revolutionary Traction Avant went into series production, Citroën had already thought about a later top-of-the-range engine - not in the form of the six-cylinder engine that appeared in 1938, however, but in the form of a V8 engine developed in-house. Test cars were driven and brochures were printed, but then the project was abruptly halted. To this day, the 22 CV remains one of the greatest mysteries in the brand's history.

This article contains the following chapters

The engine
Short development time
Adventurous test drives
Premature advertising and premature end
Creating legends
Citroën's engine curse

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Citroën 7 CV and 11 CV models - the world-famous "Traction Avant" - were conceptually revolutionary: all-steel monocoque body, low center of gravity, front-wheel drive, independent front suspension, torsion bar suspension and hydraulic brakes. The car was significantly lower than the competition, but they did not have the courage to choose a consistent aerodynamic pontoon shape. That's why the free-standing front fenders were retained. But perhaps this was a wise decision in view of the market, which punished excessive design leaps with disdain. The four-cylinder engine was a new design and "floated" in the monocoque chassis to increase comfort. The engine was rigidly bolted to the side members in the ladder frame designs that had been common until then. A certain amount of torsion of the car around the longitudinal axis was then still possible, and the body had a certain degree of freedom in relation to the chassis. With the stiffer monocoque, however, a firmly bolted engine would have led to severe vibrations.

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