CarBrandLogos archive · Peugeot · 1960

Peugeot404

Pininfarina lines over a chassis tough enough to run Kenyan roads until 1991.

Photo: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0

The story

A defining chapter in Peugeot history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Peugeot 404, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The 404 replaced the 403 in 1960 and gave Peugeot something it had not had before: a genuinely handsome mainstream car. Pininfarina drew it, and the crisp, upright three-box shape with its light tailfins looked related to the Italian house's work for BMC and Fiat in the same period. Underneath was the familiar Peugeot arrangement of front engine and rear drive, with four-cylinder petrol engines from 1468 cc upwards, and later a diesel that made the car a fixture of European taxi fleets.

Peugeot 404 Berlin · Thomas doerfer · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Technically the notable version was the fuel-injected saloon, one of the earliest applications of mechanical injection to a mainstream family car rather than a sports model. But the 404's real distinction was structural toughness, and that showed up in competition. Peugeot entered the East African Safari Rally, an event decided by mud, rock and river crossings rather than outright pace, and the 404 won it repeatedly through the 1960s. Nothing sells a car in Africa faster.

Peugeot404-coupe-1 · Rundvald · Public domain

In production

The production record tells the rest. Europe built the 404 until 1975, South Africa until 1978, Argentina until 1980, and assembly in Kenya continued until 1991, more than three decades after launch. Estates and coupe-utility pickups did commercial work across the continent, and a Pininfarina coupe and convertible sat at the top of the range.

Peugeot404-coupe-3 · Rundvald · Public domain

Legacy

The 504 succeeded it in 1968 and inherited the same reputation. Between them, the two cars did more than any advertising campaign to establish Peugeot as the European brand that would survive being used properly.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1960–1975

Engine

Petrol engine

Designer

Pininfarina

Body

4-door saloon

Technical specification

The 404, in detail.

Production: 1960–1975 (Europe); 1960–1978 (South Africa); 1962–1980 (Argentina); until 1991 (Kenya)
Class: Large family car (D)
Body style: 4-door saloon; 5-door estate; 2-door coupé; 2-door convertible; 2-door coupé utility (pickup)
Layout: FR layout
Engine: Petrol engine; petrol: ; 1468 cc List of PSA engines#XB; XB Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1616 cc List of PSA engines#XC; XC I4 ; 1616 cc List of PSA engines#XC; XCKF Fuel injection; FI I4 ; 1796 cc List
Transmission: 4-speed manual; 3-speed ZF automatic
Designer: Pininfarina
Assembly: France: Sochaux (PSA Sochaux Plant; Sochaux Plant) ; Argentina: El Palomar, Buenos Aires; El Palomar ; Australia: Heidelberg, Victoria ; Canada: Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec (SoMA) ; Chile: Los Andes, Chile; Los An
Manufacturer: Peugeot SA