Between Wars: The Golden Age of French Design

The interwar period saw French automotive design reach artistic heights. While American manufacturers pursued mass production and Germans focused on engineering precision, French carmakers created rolling sculptures. The great coachbuilders—Figoni et Falaschi, Saoutchik, Letourneur et Marchand—turned chassis from Delahaye, Delage, and Bugatti into art deco masterpieces.

But France's most important automotive innovations came from mass-market manufacturers. André Citroën, who had made his fortune producing double-helical gears, applied American mass-production methods with French flair. His factories on the Quai de Javel became Europe's most modern, while his marketing stunts—skywriting "CITROËN" above Paris, illuminating the Eiffel Tower with his name—showed uniquely French panache.

The Traction Avant of 1934 revolutionized automobile architecture. By placing the engine and transmission ahead of the front wheels and eliminating the traditional chassis, Citroën created a lower, roomier, better-handling car. The unitary body was 30% lighter yet stronger than conventional designs. Every modern front-wheel-drive car owes something to the Traction Avant.

Women played crucial but unrecognized roles in French automotive development. Germaine Rouault, one of France's first female automotive engineers, worked at Renault in the 1930s, designing interior ergonomics that considered female drivers—revolutionary when most manufacturers assumed only men drove. Her work on control placement and seat adjustment mechanisms influenced decades of French car interiors.