The opening ceremony of the Citroën special exhibition took place at the Pantheon Basel on May 26, 2014. It will be on display until October 12, 2014.
Pantheon initiator Stephan Musfeld used this opening ceremony to thank the Citroën collectors: "This special exhibition would not have been possible without the generous lenders who are giving up their rare and beautiful Citroëns for six months. I would like to thank you for this. Especially Hans Berchtold, who gave me a lot of support with the organization."
Citroën collector Hans Berchtold was naturally very pleased with this opening ceremony: "For years I have been working with Stephan Musfeld to present the 'little man's car' at the Pantheon Basel alongside the big brands such as Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Porsche. After the Citroën exhibition became more concrete, I initially met with little enthusiasm from the club board members. After all, in the 80th anniversary year of the Traction Avant, the cars should be driven and not be on display. However, after various letters and meetings with the opinion leaders, the spark was ignited and we were able to present 34 vehicles in the Pantheon. Half of them from French-speaking Switzerland, proof that there is no divide in the classic car scene."
On May 13, in our article about the Auto-Moto-Klassik Basel, we already reported in detail about this special Citroën exhibition. This time, we let Hans Berchtold talk about his passion for the Traction Avant: "This car - it was also called "la Traction" or "l'attraction" - is a masterpiece. From today's perspective, the Traction Avant was probably about 20 years ahead of its time when it was launched in 1934: front-wheel drive, self-supporting body without chassis, hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, independent suspension with torsion bar suspension, etc... Driving comfort, speed, maneuverability and road holding are outstanding. It has become a legend, a myth."
Louis Burnens, President of the Club Citroën 34-57, who traveled to Basel-Muttenz especially for the opening ceremony, was of the same opinion. He had his photo taken in front of the Traction Avant 11 BN Commerciale 1956 by Josef Mehri.
Several Citroën children's cars were also on display near Josef Mehri's Traction Avant. Citroën was one of the first car manufacturers in Europe to put a lot of thought into advertising. As early as 1923, André Citroën introduced various Citroën model cars as well as electric or pedal-powered children's cars - Citroënettes. Even Citroën scooters - Trotinettes Citroën - were produced for the children of less well-off families.
In October 1932, André Citroën said the following: "People have often asked me why I have the Eiffel Tower illuminated? Why did I launch electric or pedal-powered children's cars? After all, my cars are very well known and there are around 700,000 of them registered in France. I believe that we still need to attract the attention of the 40 million inhabitants, from adults to children, whom we reach with our activities from an early age, because the first words a child must be able to speak are "Daddy, Mommy... and Citroën"!"
Pantheon initiator Stephan Musfeld has once again managed to organize a very successful evening.
