Peugeot 401 | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Peugeot |
Production | 1934–1935 13,545 produced [1] |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Family car |
Layout | FR layout |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 1.7 L I4 |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Peugeot Type 176 |
Successor | Peugeot 402 |
The Peugeot 401 was a mid-size model from Peugeot produced in 1934 and 1935. It was introduced at the October 1934 Paris Motor Show and was again on display at the 29th Paris Show of 1935. [2]
It featured in a full page newspaper advertisement placed by Peugeot in "L'Argus" on 10 October 1935, [3] and disappeared from the manufacturer's price list only three months later, at the start of 1936, [3] reflecting the need to dispose of an inventory backlog. [3] Production of the 401 had already come to an end in August 1935, less than a year after the model's introduction. [3]
The Peugeot 401 was the first car to be built (by coachbuilder Carrosserie Pourtout) as a coupé-convertible, with a retractable hardtop that could be moved and stowed under a reverse-hinged rear luggage lid.
The 401 was powered by an enlarged version of the engine from the smaller Peugeot 301 and slotted between that model and the range-topping 601. The 401's four cylinder side-valve engine displaced 1,720 cc and produced 44 horsepower (33 kW) at 3,500 rpm. [3]
Models of the 401 include the 401 D, 401 DL, and 401 DLT. Though the majority were made as sedans, the 401 was offered with no fewer than eleven different body styles.
Peugeot built an electric folding metal roof more than twenty years before Ford reimagined the concept in their (Galaxie) Skyliner Retractable. Peugeot seemed unsure what to call the car – their catalog spoke of both "coupé transformable electrique" and "cabriolet metallique decouvrable" – the system was simply called "Eclipse" by its original inventor and designer Georges Paulin. It was first introduced by Paulin, in collaboration with premier French coachbuilder Carrosserie Pourtout, on the 401D. [4]
The Eclipse was built on a standard Peugeot model 401D's chassis. It ranks as both the longest and lowest of the 401 models:
184 in (4.67 m) long and just under 60 in (1.52 m) tall, weighing 2,851 lb (1,293 kg). The 401D 1,720 cc (105 cu in) straight four engine was rated at 12 taxable horsepower, roughly the equivalent of 50 to 60 horsepower, enough to propel the Eclipse to about 100 km/h (62 mph). [4] A total of 79 Peugeot 401 Eclipses were made. [5] Pourtout and Paulin also built Eclipse coaches of the 301 and 601, on chassis provided by Paris Peugeot-dealer Darl'mat. [6]
The all-steel bodied Peugeot 402, featuring a style regarded at the time as strikingly futuristic, was announced in October 1935, which coincided with significant price reductions for several of the previous generation of Peugeots, including the 401. [3]
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bought Ford's French subsidiary, became increasingly controlled by Chrysler. In 1970, Simca became a brand of Chrysler's European business, ending its period as an independent company. Simca disappeared in 1978, when Chrysler divested its European operations to another French automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroën. PSA replaced the Simca brand with Talbot after a short period when some models were badged as Simca-Talbots.
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Matford was a French automotive manufacturer established as a joint venture in 1934 by local firm Mathis and US-based Ford Motor Company. The name Matford derived from both companies' names. The company ceased activities in 1940.
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The Peugeot 403 is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Peugeot between May 1955 and October 1966. A total of 1,214,121 of all types, including commercial models, were produced, making it the first Peugeot to exceed one million in sales.
The Peugeot 203 is a small family car which was produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1948 and 1960.
A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars.
The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner is a two-door full-size retractable hardtop convertible, manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1957–1959. However, early into the 1959 model year, its name was expanded to Fairlane 500 Galaxie Skyliner. The retracting roof system was marketed as the Hide-Away Hardtop, and was exclusively sold on this Ford-branded model, for three model years.
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The Peugeot 202 is a supermini developed and designed by the French car manufacturer Peugeot. Production of the car ran between 1938 and 1942 and then, after a brief production run of 20 in early 1945, restarted in mid-1946. It was sold until 1949, by when it had been replaced by the 203.
Georges Paulin was a French Jewish dentist, acclaimed and inventive automobile designer and coachwork stylist, and died as a hero of the French Resistance during World War II.
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The Peugeot 402 is a large family car produced by Peugeot in Sochaux, France, from 1935 to 1942. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1935, replacing the Peugeot 401.
The Peugeot 601 was a range-topping car produced between 1934 and 1935 by Peugeot. It had its formal launch on 5 May 1934 and marked a return by the manufacturer to six-cylinder engines.
Carrosserie Pourtout was a French coachbuilding company. Founded by Marcel Pourtout in 1925, the firm is best known for its work in the decades prior to World War II, when it created distinctive and prestigious bodies for cars from numerous European manufacturers. Pre-war Pourtout bodies were mainly one-off, bespoke creations, typically aerodynamic and sporting in character. Together with chief coach designer and stylist Georges Paulin from 1933 to 1938, Pourtout pioneered the Paulin invented 'Eclipse' retractable hardtop system on four models of Peugeot, several Lancia Belna's and other car makes.
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