The development of the 1935 Peugeot 402 , like many of its contemporaries , was heavily influenced by the principle that governed effective air travel .
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The Wright Brothers ' pioneering airplane flight in 1903 not only opened the means for mankind ’s domination of the skies , it also tincture the technological mankind with the ambition of flee . Very presently it was realize that the shapes of a airplane ’s surfaces had an crucial influence on power and economic system .
This gave way to voguish " flowing " styling for all manner of vehicle – and even things that did n’t move , likehousehold appliances . But asunder from a few sensational prototypes , common motorcarscontinued to look more like boxlike carriages into the mid-1930s .
A self-aggrandizing modification come when Walter PercyChrysler’scompany introduce the brand - new Airflow models in 1934 . Designed by Carl Breer , the Chrysler andDeSotoAirflows were characterise by a consistence with rounded nose and " waterfall " grille , integrated headlight , and disjoined angled windshield remindful of a period airplane cockpit . It was n’t just the unusual aerodynamic styling of the Airflow that made it a stunning new car .
Girder - like semi - unibody building , anenginepositioned more frontward for improved weight distribution , rear hind end set within the wheelbase for a more comfortable ride , and many other details were forrader - look . But for all its inherent advantage , acceptance of the Airflow was limited .
Many did n’t like the radical styling . Others were put off by rumors ( mostly unfounded ) of technical problem that were spread when the car ’s product got off to a slow start . DeSoto gave up on the model in 1936 . Production of Chrysler - badged Airflows lasted until summer 1937 . More formal race modelling , hurriedly launch for 1935 , sustain Chrysler Motors from disaster .
Meanwhile , on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean , the introduction of the Airflow was being watched with great sake in a most unlikely quarter : Peugeot , a manufacturing business known even today for materialistic conception .
With its headquarters in Paris and its main factory in Sochaux in Northeast France , near the Swiss borderline , Peugeot is one of the human race ’s old auto manufacturer . Company history dates to the very early 19th century , when the Peugeot family began producing good that over time would come to include tools , coffeeand pepper mills , kitchen utensil , bicycles , and much more .
In 1889 , the firm record its first rider car – a Serpollet - power steamer – at the " general exposition " hold in Paris . Soon after came a Type 2 Peugeot , this time with an inner - burning railway locomotive built in France under license from Gottlieb Daimler .
In 1896 , Armand Peugeot , one of two cousins then lean the kin firm , spun off the still - bad auto business from the plant industrial concern . Later , his nephews , who inherit the old - argument sept stage business , would begin manufacturingmotorcyclesand light cars on their own , but a unification in 1910 brought all Peugeot motor vehicle performance under one roof again .
By the thirties , reliability and robustness were two parole commonly associated with Peugeots , but in styling and technology the cars conformed to mainstream European standards . Then , in 1934 , the continent ’s automaker were waken with a jolt : André Citroën introduced the Traction Avant that marked the offset of an era with its front - wheel - drive design , flat cabin floor , and unitized body without running boards .
Here , from within France itself , come in a challenge Peugeot designers would accept . Caught up in the contemporary enchantment with aerodynamic streamlining , the talented Peugeot engineers would not hesitate to bring about a second sensation based on the look of the American Airflow .
The resulting Peugeot would have the same two - while windscreen – but even more angled . It would have the same nose – but even more rounded . It would have the same flamboyant curved out of bounds , yes , even a flowing laurel wreath on the wing skirts – all inspired by the Airflow .
This Peugeot was give the model figure 402 . To determine about the 1935 Peugeot , keep to the next Thomas Nelson Page .
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1935 Peugeot 402
Since 1930 , Peugeot had get label its models the 201 , 301 , 401 , and 601 . When the newfangled 1935 Peugeot 402 was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in the Grand Palais , it was distinguish that the choice of the final digit represented the rootage of a quite different generation of passengercars .
To the enthusiastic Gallic motoring public , Peugeot ’s change to the streamline pattern seemed to be a new landmark . On the surface , nothing appear to be in usual with the older models , which were becoming quite dated by this time .
Still , there were some important tried - and - straight elements secreted under the fashionable 402 eubstance . The low stance may have remind some of Citroën ’s unit - bodied front - wheel - drive car , but the Peugeot was climb up on a conventional – albeit newly plan – rear - drive frame . And rather than assume hydraulicbrakes , the 402 perpetuated the use of cable television service - actuated mechanical units .
But these were the only conventional components used . A brand - new , 55 - horsepower , 2.0 - liter , four - cylinderenginewith overhead valves went into the 402 . Also Modern was a synchronized three - speed gear box . Front wheel were independently suspended . folio springs were self - lubricating .
At approximately 16 substructure farseeing , the 402 was n’t exactly lowly . But even with only a four - cylinder engine ( in dividing line to the inline sise and eights used in the various Airflows ) , it was effective enough to attain a top speeding of around 70 miles per hour .
There was one more thing Peugeot did well : While the styling of the Airflow bet more stout , the 402 looks quite more refined . With a particularly Gallic horse sense of style , Peugeot composed its own variation on the aerodynamic theme . This was unique among European automakers .
Even the decorative trim was deserving of attention , especially those point that referred to Peugeot ’s longstanding leonine allegory . A magnificent , stylized lion ’s mane waved at the fender skirts . The lion’s - head radiator mascot not only identified the 402 as a Peugeot , but it do a social function ; turnable , it served as the cap passing lever tumbler .
And , of course , there ’s no ignoring the unusual , side - by - side headlight positioned behind the diagonal , inverse - teardrop grille . With a 12 - V electrical system ( a pair of six - voltbatterieswere admit ) , the light source they get was signally effective .
Art Deco mode appeared in the design of the symmetrical dashboard . Beneath the junction of the two angled windscreens , the gearshift lever tumbler hold fast out from the central part of the bolt . ( fault natural action was cable - directed , not via lineal gene linkage . ) In the 402 , the handbrake lever also go out its usual location on the floor for a position on the splashboard , another touch in plebeian with the Airflow .
With no floor gear lever , the front workbench – framed with voguish chromed tubing , a trait shared with American streamliners like the Airflow and Lincoln Zephyr – was a literal three - seater . Maroon velour textile for seats and inner door panels harmonise with brown bakelite for control buttons .
A single circular dial housed all the gauges the driver needed to see ; on the diametric goal of the dash panel there was a provision for aradio– a true rarity in European cars of the sentence .
A particular multiple - social function button in thesteering wheelhub operate the complete lighting system and the dual - tone car horn , too . As an selection , customers could get a heater / deicer with a metal style - top epithelial duct painted in the samecafé au laitshade as the sleep of the instrument panel .
Peugeot added safety components to the 402 like inset wrench - case exterior room access handles and young door latch designed to resist fly open . ( Fifteen twelvemonth later on , Mercedes - Benz would take credit for having invented them . ) Four - door 402s used rear - hinge front door and front - hinged rear door , the reverse of the practice on Airflow sedans .
For more on the 1935 Peugeot 402 lineup , continue to the next pageboy .
1935 Peugeot 402 Lineup
In contrast to the soundbox building restrictions inherent in the semiunitary Airflows , the 1935 Peugeot 402 lineup ’s soundbox - on - anatomy form allowed for more mixed bag of physical structure styles . When the new Peugeot was unveiled in Paris in October 1935 , there were no less than eight different example .
On the standard 124 - column inch - wheelbase physical body there was the four - room access sedan ; the " Coach , " a six - rider coupe with a one - piece backlight ; aconvertible ; a three - seater roadster with a folding one - piece windshield and a rumble nates in which two more persons could sit ; and a public utility company sedan chair knight the " Commerciale . " The Commerciale had a two - piece tailboard for easy cargo of its two-dimensional freight floor , but it came without fender skirts .
The inviolable sensory faculty , however , was the " occultation , " a three - arse transmutable with a metal cap that could be electrically retract into thecar’svery long ass . Based on architectural plan by a Peugeot - enthusiast dental practitioner , Georges Paulin , such convertibles first appeared in the 601 serial begin in 1934 . Peugeot claimed it took just 15 second to stow the top and that the organisation ’s reliability had been proven in 20,000 tries on the epitome .
The remaining models were mounted on a 130 - in wheelbase . They let in an eight - rider sedan call the " Familiale " and a function - built taxi with sunshine-roof and sturdier bumper . ( The taxicab was available only for a year because cab drivers came to prefer the regular 402 for their body of work . )
away from the 402 , there was something else of Federal Reserve note on the Peugeot sales booth at the 1935 Paris show , something that seemed to be so improbable that a cutaway model of it was displayed to explain it further : the world ’s first fullyautomatic transmission .
Gaston Fleischel , an Alsatian applied scientist born in 1885 , design the machine specifically for the fresh streamlined Peugeot . His legion patent , which dated back to 1927 , would influence the growing of automatic rifle built in America where , with much more powerful cars and neat production intensity , the automatic transmittal would observe more ready acceptance after first appear as an choice on 1940 Oldsmobiles .
At Peugeot , however , only prototype of Fleischers handiwork were bring about . The gravid factor was cost : 6,000 francs ( $ 910 ) for the contagion was too much when the price for a whole railroad car was number at 22,900 francs ( $ 3,465 ) .
A more successful option was a four - speed electromagnetic Cotal gearbox tilt via a small lever tie to a control corner on thesteeringcolumn . There was still a lever tumbler in the dash , but it serve only to put the railcar in or out of inverse gear . This transmission was running and affordable – costing only 2,500 francs ( $ 380 ) – and found favour with Peugeot customers .
To learn about theenginethe powered the 1935 Peugeot 402 , stay to the next page .
1935 Peugeot 402 Engine
Two other tremendous projects remained in the prototype arena : an even more aerodynamic streamliner , and a forward-looking V-8 for the 1935 Peugeotengine .
While developing the new four that went into the 402 , Peugeot also design a V-8 ; at first an lambert - head word , but later with overhead valves .
This locomotive engine was considered for a more gilded sedan with the same body as the 402 , but with a qualify olfactory organ and grille . Perhaps , predictably , it would have been called the 802 . But due to the ominous political situation in Europe , it never got past the point of some prissy drawings and perhaps a clay role model .
Another sensationalcardid become a reality , the radically streamlined 402 saloon designed by Jules Andreau . For some time , Andreau had been working on flowing machine designs . In 1933 , he showed some extraordinary paradigm with fishtail bodywork . Then the streamlined Peugeot 402 gave him the basis for a new project with all - around wind - formed telephone circuit .
The result seem at the 1936 Paris Motor Show , a breathtaking car with one mighty fin – and a sealed toughie . The stillborn V-8 was hypothecate to go there . In the death , Peugeot produced six Andreau railway car with normal 402 mechanicals for sale to particular clients .
Even with its avant - garde flavor , the 402 speedily became established . The car ’s reliableness and saving pull ahead over skeptics . The carriage and soft - topconvertiblewere made until summertime 1937 .
A new six - seat interpretation of the Eclipse also add up out , replacing the three - passenger version . To keep the price reasonable , the top became manually operated . It was necessary to flip this fresh convertible to the tenacious chassis of the Familiale sedan in guild to hold the tremendous roof in the trunk .
As a space - saving move , a monotonous , one - bit windshield put back the original Eclipse ’s veed windscreen , which did aside with the pointed forward edge of the roof control panel . This " alloy convertible , " as Peugeot called it , would go on to be one of most try after cars to come from Sochaux . In October of that year , the Commerciale public utility sedan chair take the tenacious wheelbase and the nicer rear - organic structure styling of the Familiale .
To adopt the story of the Peugeot 402 from 1936 - 1940 , go forward on to the next page .
1936-1940 Peugeot 402
The 1936 - 1940 Peugeot 402 put its stamp on the total Peugeot line .
October 1936 saw the introduction of the 302 , a small four - windowpane sedan in the 402 vogue . There was also aconvertible . Built on a 102 - inch wheelbase , the 302 was power by a 1.5 - liter four - cylinderengine . Starting in April 1938 , bothcarswere offered with the cock-a-hoop 402 engine ; as such they were sell as the 402 Légère ( Light ) .
In autumn 1937 , there come along an even low model , the 202 , a replacement for the old 201 , the last of the onetime - style Peugeots . Aside from its mat , undivided windscreen and backlight , the 202 had the characteristic 402 look on a cable car that was just about 13.5 feet recollective .
Its locomotive engine was a new 1.1 - l ohv four that could take the 202 to a top pep pill of 62 mph , Peugeot said . Furthermore , Peugeot brightness level motortruck make before and during the coming Earth warfare had the same 402 - expressive style olfactory organ with headlamps hidden behind the grill .
The 302 and 402 also served as the basis for backwash cars made by one of the most important Peugeot trader in Paris , Emile Darl’Mat . The man with the unusual name also was a race - car number one wood and designer . He built a small series of telling buggy and coupes , the latter with twin teardrop - style backlights and a nub - shaped permit plate .
Three years after the introduction of the 402 , a 2d generation was lay out at the 1938 Paris show . Chryslerhad halt make Airflows the year before , but Peugeot pressed on with its interpretation of the futurist design , modifying it only a piddling bit and call it the 402 B.
The wicket was more rounded with painted bars in property of chromed ones . On sedan , a new " bustleback " trunk replaced the former hot flash - fitting deck hat and exposed spare tyre . Thanks to a recollective stroke , the railway locomotive now force out 2.1 liters and made 63horsepower . obliterable piston chamber liners were another of the railway locomotive ’s new features . transmittal selection remained the same .
A big metallic element sunshine-roof was freshly available – at no additional cost . The maroon velours interior fabric was supercede by a simpler , unclouded - brown , striped textile .
New body types included the first hardtop coupe in France , the 402 B Coach . It was the hearty - roof comrade to the " Coach Décapotable , " which feature a folding fabric top over fix windowpane frames . The long - wheelbase series still consist of three models : the Familiale , metal - roof convertible ( now called the " Transformable métallique " ) and Commerciale .
The being of the small 202 and the tractability of body - on - figure structure led to some laughable invention . Peugeot put the 202 body on the modify frame of the 402 Légère , give it a longer nose , and sell it in 1939 as the 402 B Légère ; 4,569 were build .
In contrast , a handful of prototypes of a diesel - railway locomotive 402 B were manufactured . authorities restrictions that modified diesel engine use to utility vehicle put an end to this project .
morose daytime were just around the street corner for France . After the military forces of Nazi Germany overrun the country in 1940 and civilian car production was end , only a few 202 and 402 sedans left the mill until 1944 . When peace returned to Europe , Peugeot reanimate the petty 202 as its sole car stemma for a few years , but the day of the Airflow impersonator was by now definitively over .
output of first - generation 402s come to 33,815 motorcar between 1935 and 1938 ; another 6,718 long - wheelbase framework and 2,038 taxicab were manufactured . ( By 1939 , about 25 percentage of Paris taxicab were 402s . ) Factory output of 402 Bs until 1940 came to 11,620 . retentive - wheelbase 402 Bs accounted for 4,512 assembly . In the first generation , 10 per centum were ordered with the Cotal four - speed transmission . Twenty pct of 402 B buyers choose it .
There is no uncertainty that the unusual 402 was one of the best - selling car in prewar France . You could still see them on the street in the fifties , where they were hard to miss . Even after all those old age , the typical flavour of the two - piece windscreen and the headlamps behind the raked wicket give way them by very quickly .
