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Der Poller

Citroën
7 1,6 L Front
Year of construction: 1935

4 cylinders
1,617 cc
34 HP
110 km/h

Gearbox: Manually
German production

106.000 

The German vehicle industry was not very competitive after the First World War and during the hardships that followed, and the German government tried to reduce the import of foreign products by imposing customs duties. However, as the German market seemed promising, American, French and Italian manufacturers tried to circumvent the customs duties by setting up German assembly plants. After the German Reich joined the League of Nations and the British occupiers evacuated the Rhineland on January 31, 1926, Citroën began building an assembly plant in Cologne-Poll on the same day. The spacious factory facilities had previously belonged to the “Rheinwerk”, the Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggonfabrik AG. The direct rail connection provided an ideal logistical connection to Paris. The company premises in Cologne-Poll extended over 64,500 square meters and, with a 650 m long assembly line, became the most modern car factory in Germany. Production of complete vehicles began on February 15, 1927. Together with the 350 dealerships in the German Reich, Citroën became the largest import manufacturer in Germany. The Unter den Linden representative office in Berlin was one of the most impressive and beautiful car shows in Germany. With sales and production companies in Belgium, Denmark, England, Holland, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and Spain, Citroën became the largest car manufacturer in Europe. In November 1928, just one month after the press presentation in Paris, the new C4 and C6 models were presented to the German public in the Hotel Adlon in Berlin. In order to comply with German law, the cars consisted of 75% parts made in Germany. From 1933 onwards, even the engines were manufactured at Siemens in Berlin and the cars then consisted of 95% German parts. Nevertheless, the nagging of the German authorities continued and when Citroën itself ran into financial difficulties in France, the factory in Cologne was closed again in December 1935. By then, 18,710 vehicles had been produced there and German Citroën dealers simply called the cars from Cologne-Poll the “Poller”. The Poller were sought after due to their improvements in detail and their quality of workmanship. The Traction Avant models 7, 11 and 15, introduced in 1934, were also produced in Cologne and sold under the names 7, 11 and 15 Front. 1,823 Citroën Front were built before the factory closed. As far as we know, four examples still exist, two of which were found in eastern Germany after reunification. A completely rotten sedan that is now in France, a convertible sedan in Berlin, a convertible that is in the USA and a sedan that was in German first ownership until recently.

We got the latter car in 2019 and were able to sell it to a Citroën collector. We then carried out various work on the brakes and carburettor and installed an original replacement gearbox from an early Traction Avant. The car was then made ready to drive again. We made sure that as much as possible remained original. This meant that we were able to repair the original German brake system instead of simply installing French parts, which would have been much easier. Our invoices for €15,785.31 and the photo documentation of the work are available. The car is fully roadworthy, has a valid MOT and an H-approval and, despite the 1935 front axle and contrary to the opinions of some self-proclaimed experts, drives straight and does not pull crooked when braking. We naturally kept the identical original gearbox made in Germany because it belongs to the car. Because the car is so historically significant, the owner has only driven just under 200 kilometers with it and has therefore decided to sell the unique “Bollard”.

The car is a real sensation because it is documented as well as possible. Even the first vehicle registration document and the first license plates from 1935 are available. The grandparents of the last owner, from whom we got the car in 2019, bought two such cars from Cologne in 1935. A normal model and this luxuriously equipped model with two-tone paint, leather seats and rear window blind. The normal model was used a lot and was probably used up by the Wehrmacht during the war. The Wehrmacht did not confiscate the luxury model because the engine block had already cracked in the 1940s. The family had simply poured wheat flour bran into the cooling water and this made the cooling system so tight that the car could be driven from time to time until 1959. Just like all the other documents, the deregistration confirmation from 1959 is also available. At some point in the 1950s, additional taillights had to be installed. In June 2002, the car was awakened from its deep sleep, completely dismantled and reassembled over the next three years. Everything was kept as original as possible and the car was also repainted in its original colors. The bodywork only had two small rust holes somewhere in front of the left rear wheel, but nothing of this is visible anymore. The crack in the engine block was welded and the engine was fitted with new cylinder liners and pistons. The original steering was completely overhauled and special bearings had to be made for this. Nothing was to be changed, everything was to be reconditioned to the way it was in 1935. Therefore, neither the front axle nor the steering from a ’37 model, which improved handling, were installed. Everything is as it was built in Cologne in 1935. You can probably see on this car as well as on any of the other three still existing German-made cars what exactly distinguishes the cars produced in Cologne from those produced in Paris. For example, the engines built by Siemens are painted red instead of green, the piping on the door cutouts and fenders is designed differently, the dashboard is painted in a wood decor finish (similar to a Facel Vega), the door cutouts have additional door stop rubbers, the entire electrics including the headlights come from Bosch, the radiator from Wartenberg and Freund, the tires are from Continental like the original and much more. The body panels come from Ambi-Budd in Berlin-Johannisthal. There is extensive photo documentation of the reconstruction between 2002 and 2005, but at that time it was still in the form of photos on paper, so no digital photos. Today it is also a historical document in itself.

Furthermore, the car is tax-free in Germany. After March 31, 1933, you could voluntarily pay an increased tax and thus the vehicle tax was paid for all time. Since this document, like everything else, still exists, it was presented when the car was re-registered in 2002 and a lawyer confirmed the tax exemption through legal means. The €191 tax for an H license plate would certainly be bearable, but the law from 1933 was never repealed. However, there are probably only a few cars left whose first owners paid the increased tax at the time, whose car still exists and whose tax document still exists. The fact that the car has had a complete history for 87 years is simply unbelievable and the car is therefore of extraordinary historical importance. Somehow a testament to the German-French friendship, despite all previous political conflicts.

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