90 years have passed since the launch of the Citroën 8CV, 10CV and 15CV. The trio of models made their debut at the 1932 Paris Salon and were intended to expand the French firm’s range. They had great improvements at a technical and technological level, although few imagined that they would break all the barriers that were put in front of them. Over time, it became known as Citroen Rosalie to the three copies and they were gaining fame for their surprising feats.
Its name comes from another prototype with which they were investigating at the time. The original Rosalie was a special version of the Citroen C6 F with an aluminum body made by César Marchand that was intended to show the reliability of the new Yacco oils product. At the Circuit de Montlhéry he was able to complete no less than 25,000 kilometers in eleven days, which would be worth it to beat 14 international records. However, the thing did not stop there, because there was a second installment.
In the spring of 1932 with another C6, nicknamed Rosalie II, all figures were improved and reached 100,000 kilometers. On that occasion, 60 international and 30 world records were broken. So good old André Citroën decided to go ahead with these reliability tests with the new models presented in Paris. The Citroën 8CV was preparing for the occasion, receiving the petite rosalie nickname and with no limits. It was filming between March 15, 1932 and July 27, 1933, which would be equivalent to four months without a break.
With that copy they completed 300,000 kilometers at an average of 93.5 km/h. A feat that earned them 297 records, including 191 international and 106 world records. To achieve this, six drivers alternated behind the wheel every five hours and could only stop to relieve themselves, refuel or replace wear parts. And the 8CV would have lasted longer, but André Citroën decided to stop and challenge his competitors to exceed their numbers. No one would win the three million francs that he offered as a prize…
What he did achieve was to make history and continue with the Citroën Rosalie lineage. There were several more they kept smashing records in the following years. In 1934 the Rosalie VI (a 6-cylinder Citroën 15CV) managed to reach 150 km/h. In 1935 the Rosalie VII broke several records by having an average speed of 145 km/h. The last would be the Rosalie IX, which was already based on the Citroën Traction and did a total of 100,000 kilometers (1,500 kilometers per day) on the open road.
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