In the 1930s, Citroën was riding a high. Their new model, the Traction 15 Six, had just been dubbed the “Queen of the Road,” thanks to its impressive road holding and the mighty 77 horsepower 2.8-litre in-line six cylinder engine under the bonnet. The world was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the cabriolet version, and in early 1939, Citroën’s research department built a handful of prototypes to be tested at the Montlhéry circuit.

While the start of World War II later that year shrouded the Citroën Traction 15 Six Cabriolet’s origins in mystery, it is believed 7 bodies were made, of which just three were completed before the war. One was delivered to the Countess de Portes and is now lost, another was given to the French ambassador to the United States and is also missing, while the third example was delivered to Madame Michelin. Meanwhile, the 4 remaining “ferrées” bodies were stashed away in the basement of the Quai de Javel factory in Paris.

This example is one of those four bodies, discovered during the liberation of Paris before being assembled and registered by the Service des Mines in 1946, as shown on its identification plate. While its early life remains a mystery for the most part, it reappears in the records in 1964, when it arrived at the home of Raoul Wander, head of famed chocolate powder producers Ovomaltine. Wander owned this stunning Citroën for two years before passing ownership to Denys Joannon in February 1966, who fitted it with a 15 Six D engine from the 1950s and repainted it in the same shade of red it wears today. Joannon — a famous Citroën dealer and collector — cherished his Traction 15 Six Cabriolet for almost 50 years before selling it in 2015 for over 600,000 euros, making it the most expensive Citroën road car in the world. Benefitting from over 80,000 euros of work in the last decade, this ultra-rare Citroën is now looking for a new home as it heads to Aguttes’ Autoworld: Auction & Motion sale on October 5th.