Luciens Vermächtnis

The French car brand Rosengart existed from 1928 to 1955. Lucien Rosengart had his factory in Neuilly-sur-Seine in the greater Paris area, and from 1928 onwards he manufactured inexpensive licensed vehicles of the English Austin Seven. His volume model was the LR 2. Monsieur Rosengart may have had his own car brand, but he earned money primarily as a parts supplier for the car industry and with his patents for the hand-operated Dynapoche flashlight, the Moteurcycle auxiliary bicycle motor, and the gramophone drive. When Citroën ran into financial difficulties shortly after entering car production, Lucien Rosengart helped with capital and contacts and was appointed restructuring manager at Citroën in December 1919, with the rank of equal director alongside André Citroën. A few years later, Peugeot ran into financial difficulties and here too Lucien Rosengart saved the company and was appointed director. Although little known today, he was one of the most influential figures in the European car industry between the two world wars. In 1932, Lucien Rosengart met Gustave Baehr, who told him about the front-wheel drive car made by the German company Röhr in Darmstadt. Röhr had designed this car for the Adler factory in Frankfurt am Main. Rosengart traveled to Röhr in Germany. To demonstrate the advantage of front-wheel drive, Gustav Röhr had a wheelbarrow pulled along a straight line. First, Lucien Rosengart was to push the wheelbarrow forwards as best as possible across the line and then pull the wheelbarrow along the line behind him. The experiment was so astonishing that Rosengart was immediately convinced and bought the French distribution rights for the Adler car. Back in Paris, Rosengart’s engineers immediately set to work building prototypes. Rosengart tells his friend André Citroën about the prototype and they both end up driving in the Rosengart prototype. They happen to do so during a heavy rain shower that turns the paths in the Bois de Bologne park in Paris into mud. The prototype is not very impressed and stubbornly continues on its way. Citroën is immediately won over by the Supertraction project (loosely translated, something like super-tractor). André Citroën then develops the sensational Traction Avant, of which a good 750,000 are produced by 1957.

Lucien Rosengart, who died in 1976 at the age of 95, has the honour of having built France’s first production car with front-wheel drive in 1933 with the LR 500 Supertraction model. In 1934, the Supertraction was improved and sold as the LR 505. Around 250 examples were built. Since Lucien Rosengart was in a sense the midwife of the Citroën Traction Avant, he was allowed to develop his own vehicle on this basis, the LR 539 Supertraction, presented in 1938. 1,053 chassis numbers of this were recorded in the company archives, but far fewer were completed due to the outbreak of war. The sheet metal body, in the Art Deco style of classical modernism, was designed by the in-house body stylist Robin and reflects the opulent taste of the 1930s. The headlights integrated into the front fenders were considered ultra-modern at the time. Production started in early 1939 and the model was offered from 39,900 francs (around 20% more than a Citroën Traction Avant Cabriolet). Mainly convertibles were built, but also a few coupés and a four-door sedan, Lucien’s personal car. An eight-cylinder car with a Mercury engine called the ST 8 Supertrahuit was also built on the basis of the LR 539 and is still preserved. The Rosengart Supertraction perfectly combined American modernity and French elegance; it was the darling of the French Concours d’Elegances in the spring and summer of 1939. Fewer than 50 of these remain, and probably fewer than 15 of them are in running order. There are five of these cars in Germany, one of which is in the Rosengart Museum in Bedburg, west of Cologne. Of the five cars in Germany, three were in our workshop.

This car left the factory on May 23, 1939 and was delivered to the engineer Roger Chambonneau in Caracas, Venezuela. What happened during the war is not known, but in 1971 the car resurfaced in France. Until 1976 the convertible was registered first in the Gironde department, then in Saint-Crepin Ibouvillers in France, before it was sold to Germany. Pictures from these years show a partially dismantled barn find. The new German owner from Rhineland-Palatinate carried out an initial restoration of the bodywork to make the convertible roadworthy again. After another change of ownership in 1996, the car was then extensively and professionally restored from January 2000 to March 2003 by the Diemer & Dahlheimer workshop in St. Ingbert near Saarbrücken, which specializes in classic car restorations. The vehicle was completely rebuilt again, and the original engine and transmission were completely overhauled. The leather of the seats and the convertible top have been completely restored in a saddlery. The entire restoration history can be fully traced thanks to the original invoices and restoration photos owned by the owner. The restoration was a complex process. Although the vehicle was in its original condition, the paintwork, leather and all of the wooden parts were badly weathered. The bodywork was in relatively good condition, with only a few areas of rust. After the restoration, the Super-Traction was re-registered in its current two-tone color combination of dark blue and cream on March 17, 2003. In 2011, the Super-Traction finally returned to its second-to-last owner in Berlin and has been used regularly for trips ever since, one trip even as far as the Allgäu. Over the years, further technical optimizations have been carried out, including a new transmission and a new leather steering wheel. a moderate increase in performance as part of another engine overhaul, a revision of the rear axle swing arms, shock absorbers and springs, the reproduction of the original bumpers and decorations, the purchase of the very rare Delage on-board clock and the conversion to a 12V on-board voltage. Since the penultimate owner, in addition to the Rosengart, owns several Citroën vintage cars, we have known about the car since 2012 and in 2023 we sold the car to a collector of top-class pre-war cars in Bavaria. It was only in February 2024 that our managing director Mr. Kayser personally brought the vehicle to Bavaria. Before that, all defects found were remedied for a good €20,000. Unfortunately, the new owner in Bavaria developed health problems and, on medical advice, has to significantly simplify his lifestyle. Therefore, a large part of his collection is being sold, including this fully operational Rosengart, although he has not driven a meter with it since we delivered it. We are very sorry about that and first of all we wish him the very best for a speedy recovery. You have the opportunity to drive and enjoy this rare car immediately. Of course, you only have to register it in your name, but that only takes a week…

We examine all cars thoroughly and then usually make three offers. However, since we only carried out repairs for the owner in December 2023 for a good €20,000, nothing needs to be repaired or serviced at the moment. The car is fully operational immediately!