1930 - 1934 Tracta E Henri Le Moine Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information

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Since its conception in the 1880s, the automobile developed at a rapid pace. Every aspect of Karl Benz's original design was changed or improved some way. There was one major exception; the drive of the engine was always to the rear wheels. The very practical reason for this was that it was considered too complicated to connect drive-shafts to wheels that also had to steer. The first engineer to recognize the advantages of front wheel drive was the legendary American racing car constructor Harry Miller. From the early 1920s, he offered his single seater racers with either front or rear wheel drive. Due the absence of a prop-shaft, the front wheel drive versions were considerably lower.

Miller's work was followed with great interest around the world and found a following particularly in France. Jean Albert Gregoire and Pierre Fenaille, two young and very talented engineers, teamed up to develop their own front wheel driven machine. To that end they established 'Tracta' in Asnieres, France. Short for Traction Avant, the name was a clear indicator of the intentions of the two men. Dubbed the Gephi (short for Gregoire and Fenaille), the first Tracta was constructed in 1926. It was fitted with a rudimentary roadster body and was immediately put to the test on the track. Gregoire and Fenaille believed that racing success would help convince the people that a front-wheel drive machine could function just as good and even better than a conventionally driven car.

The biggest hurdle to overcome was how to get the power to the front wheels without impairing the steering. The two men attended to that problem by fitting drive-shafts with double joints that provided movement in all the directions needed. After its inventor, it is sometimes referred to as Hooke's joint, but today it is better known as a universal joint. The driven wheels were kept upright at all times by the use of a Lancia inspired spring/damper strut that limited wheel movement to up and down only. The drum brakes at the front were fitted next to the differential, to prevent them from interfering with the movement of the universal joints.

Designed with front wheel drive in mind, the steel platform chassis was very low. Both at the front and rear, it featured underslung suspension, which meant that the chassis members ran under the axles. The relatively simple rear suspension featured a live axle and quarter elliptic leaf springs. The four cylinder engine was provided by Scap. Displacing just under 1.1 litre and equipped with a Cozette supercharger, it produced 40 bhp. It was bolted in the chassis 'the wrong way around' with the four speed gearbox pointing forward. To accommodate the relatively long drivetrain, the Tracta had a very large engine bay, especially considering the size of the engine.

With Gregoire behind the wheel the Tracta Gephi finished seventh and last in the 1927 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a testament of the car's reliability, but its position did not prove its proposed superiority. While continuing to race the four cylinder engined Tracta, Gregoire and Fenaille developed a production car. Dubbed the Type A, it debuted in 1928. It was the first front-wheel driven production car. Fitted with attractive convertible or coupe bodies, these very low Tractas were among the most unusual and attractive machines on the market. Despite a class win at Le Mans in 1929, customers remained sceptical.

In 1930 the range of four cylinder engined machines was joined by the six cylinder 'Type E.' It used a Continental straight six engine with a displacement of nearly 2.7 litre. With 58 bhp, the Type E was the most powerful Tracta offered to date. It still was not enough to attract a large number of customers. It is believed that only 50, some say as few as 10, Type Es were produced between 1930 and 1934. Only two are known to have survived. In 1934 the curtain fell for Tracta. Gregoire went on to work for many other companies and even ended up building cars under his name after the War. Thanks in part to the pioneering of Gregoire and Fenaille, there is little unconventional about front-wheel drive today.

Featured is one of the two surviving Tracta Type Es. It is fitted with an elegant body by little known French coach builder Henri le Moine. Today it is part of the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Tampa Florida. The other Type E can be found in a French museum, but no longer sports its original body. The exceptional Henri le Moine Coupe is shown above during the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.