Citroen PLR, a ten-wheel monster

50 years ago to test truck tires this illogical experiment was born in sight starting because it had an odd number of wheels, exactly 11 wheels. This Citroen PLR was a prototype built for Michelin, with the aim of monitoring the behavior of tires for heavy vehicles. It was a rolling test lab for testing tires.

Regarded as a work of engineering and design, inside was a device into which the wheel of the truck was attached as the eleventh wheel.

In this YouTube video we can see in more detail how this huge vehicle was built.

To see the Citroen PLR in action, don’t miss this video:

Citroen PLR technical data

Its triple rear axle belonged to a Peugeot 504. With a weight of almost ten tons, it needed ten 16-inch wheels. So that it could work, they put two 5.7-liter V8 engines that were used to equip the Chevrolet Corvette C3. Each of them covered a power of 350 CV. Its interior was the one that had the Citroen DS Safari, carrying a Corvette automatic box.

You will be surprised to know that five vertically arranged radiators were necessary to cool the engines. The maximum speed of this Citroen PLR was 180 km/h.

One of the motors transmitted power to the laboratory at the rear of the vehicle. The truck wheel mounted on a suspension arm, rotated thanks to that second motor.

It is currently in the L’Aventure Michelin Museum, dedicated to the history of this tire manufacturer.