Brand Peugeot today it is a messenger of French innovation and prestige throughout the world and a modern expression of automotive pleasure. How did she do it?
Coffee grinders, saw blades, sewing machines, horse grooming razors, women's crinolines and corsets, a thousand and one tools, even military cartridges and carriages... and bicycles, steam tricycles, mopeds, scooters and of course - cars. At first, with steering handles instead of a steering wheel and the power of only two "horses", coupe convertibles between the two world wars, electric with a range of 80 kilometers as early as 1941, those that defied African roads and dust for decades, super sports that squeeze out hundreds of kilowatts, and conceptual, where the imagination takes off. You'd think it was all that and more 210 years of history crowned with the badge of a mighty lion and hears the name Peugeot?
1810 – It all starts with steel
All this and more is Peugeot, the oldest manufacturer of various devices or products with continuous operation and which the history of the brand dates back to 1810. The first Peugeot, born in 1734 Jean-Pierre, he started with a weaving mill and also had an oil mill, a dye factory and a mill. sons, Jean-Pierre II. and Jean-Frédéric converted the mill into a rolled steel factory and laid the foundations of the first company in 1810.
Peugeot Frères became known as a rolled steel plant, and its specialty was saw blades and steel tools such as hammers, tongs, chisels, axes, saws, and umbrella springs and frames. In addition to the famous coffee grinder, designed in 1840, they members of the Peugeot family thus creating many innovations and embarking on various industries. Among other things, they even entered the world of Parisian haute couture, crinolines with flexible Peugeot steel rings served to support women's skirts, and with corsets they kept their business in French haute-couture. In 1858, they designed the logo and protected the symbol of the lion, which represents strength, speed, flexibility and resilience, so characteristic of Peugeot saw blades – their properties were associated with the merciless jaws of a lion.
The famous coffee grinder with a long-lived and patented mechanism has been in production almost unchanged since 1840. It exists in wall-mounted, table-top and professional versions, each in at least four sizes, all in many materials, container shapes and colors. Look on the underside of grandma's coffee pot or your pepper grinder: it's quite likely that it will say Peugeot et Cie.
Manufacturing ammunition for the military honed the knowledge of steel casting and shaping, which later came in handy for Peugeot in the production of car chassis. Even earlier, they threw themselves into the production of bicycles, it was the first "Le Grand Bi" – and today's bikes exude the winning spirit of great cycling races.
At the end of the 19th century, Peugeot's activity turned to car manufacturing, which was put on a pedestal through strategic partnerships. The path through the colorful mosaic of the automotive world and the struggle with speed was mapped out by an enthusiast and visionary Armand Peugeot, who mainly got to know bicycles, but his great passion was cars.
1889 – The first Peugeot car and an era of automotive innovation
Armand Peugeot came up with the idea of making bicycles while studying metallurgy in Leeds, England, and realized the idea of his own factory in 1887. But that was only the beginning, as another love soon prevailed. In the year 1889, marked by the industrial revolution, progress, scientific discoveries and the Eiffel Tower, Armand has already introduced the first car called Peugeot. It was created in collaboration with Léon Serpollet Serpollet-Peugeot, the first steam powered tricycle (Type 1).
A year later, Armand abandoned the steam engine and introduced gasoline, they produced the first four-wheeler with Daimler two-cylinder engines (Type 2), years 1891 but theirs saw the light of day the first production car (Type 3). A modern means of transport is its power and endurance when driven 2,100 kilometers showed on – bicycle race. In 1895, one of the versions took second place in a race with cyclists with an average speed of 15 km/h. Armand then broke with Daimler and made his own engine, and with modifications, conversions and innovations, the model numbers changed like a bet.
Since cars were primarily big toys for the rich who wanted to be noticed above all, it is Peugeot added the first night driving light and the first horn to the Type 26. In 1901, the engine was installed in the front for the first time, and the Type 36 model added a steering wheel and put rubber tires on it – but without tubes. In 1908 they won one of the races with an engine that was the first in the world to have four camshafts and four valves per cylinder, in 1910 they the first to install a windshield, and in 1913 as "charlatans" won the Indianapolis 500 – the winning engine in the Peugeot L76 had four cylinders, two camshafts and 16 valves. After the death of Armand in 1919, his nephew Robert took over his work and continued it with the same enthusiasm.
Engine power and speed grew with the numbers of Peugeot models, and the equipment package also expanded. Cars grew in length, and production and sales figures also strengthened. The Type 156 in 1920 measured almost five meters in length, the wheelbase was a "royal" 367 centimeters, so it is not surprising that the French president was transported with it. By 1925, Peugeot had already made 100 thousand vehicles!
1929 – The first Peugeot with today's markings
Since its inception, Peugeot has frequently launched new models to meet customer expectations. Thus, only between 1930 and 1940, all series were put on the market in a different version, and the specific naming of the vehicles originates from that time. Peugeot 201 in 1929, it was not only the first car in the world with individual suspension of the front wheels, but also the first model with a new name, which is still valid today. The first number indicates the size of the model, the last generation, and there is always a zero in the middle. Later, at Peugeot, they decided to double the zero on some vehicles, which characterizes models of sport utility vehicles.
The first model 301 was brought to the market in 1932, Peugeot 401 and from 1934 was a real special. It was available in as many as 11 body versions, including as coupe convertible Eclipse, or the first production car with a hard folding roof. With the help of electricity, the coupé roof elegantly folded into the trunk and – voilà – a convertible was born. The enormous adaptability of individual parts of the vehicles at that time is shown by the fact that the smaller 301, larger 401 and prestigious 601 were equipped with such a folding roof without much difficulty.
The Peugeot 402 was the first model of the second generation, in 1938 it served as the first in their history with a diesel engine in the nose. What's more, the 402 was the first in the world to be offered with an automatic transmission, and there was an interesting version with a coal and wood boiler, the exhaust then driving the engine. It was clearly not possible without the coupe cabriolet.
Peugeot launched the VLV model in 1941. The small city electric car for two was equipped with an electric motor powered by four batteries. If the top speed figure of 30 kilometers per hour may not be convincing, the range figure is more telling - the Peugeot VLV was able to do 80 kilometers on a single charge!
205 – Recipe for global success and visibility
After World War II, Peugeot introduced model 203, the first with a self-supporting body and the first Peugeot to sell over a million units. They also continued the tradition of coupes and convertibles. Model 404 "above without", which he designed to be famous Pininfarina, is considered one of the most beautiful French vehicles and remains one of the most desirable collector's items to this day.
Model 504 from 1968, it was produced under license for a full 38 years - that is, until 2006 - and sold 3.7 million copies. He was also nicknamed the King of African Roads. Peugeot 104 in 1972, it was the smallest five-door hatchback of its time, with to the 604 model in 1979, after 44 years, they returned with a prestigious sedan and a six-cylinder, and the model was also the first commercially successful turbodiesel.
In 1983, one of the biggest legends of the brand was born Peugeot - 205 model, which quickly became synonymous with the elegance, practicality and agility of a small car that has everything the big ones have. The legendary 205 was successful both with customers and in motorsport, and with it, Peugeot further strengthened its visibility and raised its reputation to a new level. They produced the 205 model for 16 years and made it together more than five million copies, but during all this time he did not experience any significant changes in his appearance.
Over the years, it offered customers many gasoline and diesel engine versions, as well as different body styles, which satisfied the different wishes of customers. The basic five-door was joined by a three-door and a convertible, and a few two-seater cargo versions were also produced for craftsmen. A very special story was the sports model 205 GTi, which hit the roads in a three-door version in 1984. Initially with 105 horsepower (86 kW), and later with even more powerful engines, the GTi is among the fans of smaller "firecrackers" because of the excellent driving sensations. soon gained icon status.
A name tarnished by success in motorsport
Z to the 205 turbo 16 model Peugeot won the title in 1985 and 1986 World Rally Champion and began to flirt with motorsport even more seriously. He was their famous four times Paris-Dakar rally, and before that they defeated the competition six times in East Africa Safari rally with models 404 and 504.
Peugeot became dependent on petrol fumes and at the same time committed to setting records. Finnish racer Ari Vatanen was chasing the mountain climb record in the 405 T16 at Pike's Peak, brothers Panizzi dominated the rally with the 206 WRC model, Mika Hakkinen and tamed the breakneck performance of Peugeot's 3.5-liter V10 engine with 710 "horses" in McLaren's formula racing car from 1994. The rich racing collection also includes two 908 Hdi FAP models, with which the Peugeot Sport team attracted attention in 2009 with a historic double win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Peugeot 208 T16 with as many as 875 "horses" entered the ranks of the immortals with the Pike's Peak record.
What do 1969, 1988, 2002, 2014, 2017 and 2020 have in common? Each one went down in history with golden letters, as Peugeot received the most prestigious award in motoring at the time, the title of European Car of the Year, which is a record among manufacturers. Winning models 504, 405, 307, 308, 3008 and 208 each in their own way embodied the values of Peugeot design excellence through elegance and dynamism, efficient design, driving pleasure and quality at the highest level.
Currently, the latest milestone in the history of the brand means transition to electrification. Models 208 and 2008 are available from launch with three different power sources: petrol, diesel or 100% electric.
Peugeot predicts that by 2023 they will offer their customers a choice between a classic or an electric engine (100% electric or hybrid) in all their models.
In 210 years, Peugeot not only made countless grinders, saws and wheels, but also more ten million interesting, high-quality, useful, reliable, diverse and legendary vehicles, thus deserving of a deep bow.
You can find even more information and video content about the history of Peugeot at peugeot.si.
