Citroën Rosalie

In the previous months, Citroën on the occasion of their 100th anniversary shed some light on the Type A 10 HP and Type C 5 HP as two early and important models of their history. Now they show a classic car from the 1930s, which was for some time a little celebrity: ‘Rosalie’. Today hardly anyone knows this once well-known model, mainly because later post-war cars of Citroën became even more famous. But before World War 2, the name Rosalie was very familiar with car fans. The foundation for this was laid by a lightweight racing car, which set several speed and endurance records on the Montlhéry circuit in 1933. A year earlier, Citroën presented the new models 8CV, 10CV and 15CV at the Paris Motor Show, all characterized by a ‘floating engine’. It was an innovative floating power device, through which the engine was suspended at only two points in the longitudinal axis and thus could swing freely. Special rubber buffers reduced excessive vibrations.

With the smallest available engine, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder with 24 kW/32 hp, the 8CV entered the brand history as ‘Petite Rosalie’ (little Rosalie). At that time, the maximum speed was 90 kph (56 mph) thanks to a three-speed transmission. For the first time this model received a one-piece body shell, which turned out even stiffer compared to the previously used all-steel bodies. The above mentioned record car was based on an 8CV chassis. It lapped the Montlhéry circuit non-stop from March 15 to July 27, 1933 for a full 134 days under the supervision of the French Automobile Club. During that time it covered more than 300,000 kilometers in an average speed of 93 kph (57.8 mph). Company founder André Citroën praised a prize of three million francs for whoever would beat this record – which, at least to our knowledge, never happened. Between October 1932 and January 1935 Citroën produced 38,835 copies of the 8CV Petite Rosalie, including the facelifted model from 1934 with a performance increase to 26 kW/36 hp. All Rosalie models got the new abbreviation NH for ‘nouvel habillage’ (new dress) from that point, which indicated the new bodyworks with less air resistance.

With an outside length of 4.57 meters, the Citroën 10CV surpassed the 8CV Petite Rosalie by at least 30 centimeters. It also from the outset received a 1.7-liter engine with 26 kW/36 hp, good for a topspeed of 100 kph (62 mph). Several body styles, like an open two-seater, a sedan or various delivery van bodies, allowed customers to order the right vehicle for their intended use. By 1935, 49,249 copies of the 10CV and the facelifted 10CV NH were built. As a top-of-the-line model Citroën also offered the 15CV with an elastically mounted six-cylinder engine in a specially for this purpose extended front end. From 2.6 liters of displacement this engine developed 41 kW/56 hp. The weight-reduced Légère version of the 15CV reached a topspeed of up to 120 kph (74.5 mph). Overall, Citroën produced 7,228 units of the 15CV and 15CV NH until 1935.

What may sound incredible today was a reality back then: Citroën produced new cars in Germany in their factory at Cologne-Poll and sold them as ‘Made in Germany’. This happened due to the simple reason that high import duties had to be paid on imported vehicles in Germany back then, while domestically produced cars could be normally offered. At the Rosalie, they even renounced the use of imported components and could therefore attach the emblem ‘Deutsche Arbeit’ (German work) on the bodywork. Altogether 440 workers built exactly 1,789 copies of the ‘German Rosalie’ from 1933 to 1935. Citroën collectors are today in search of the few surviving examples from this short chapter of the company’s history.

Images: Citroën