Peugeot's greatest ever cars

In 1810 the two Peugeot brothers, Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frédéric established the Peugeot company when they converted a corn mill into a steel mill to make the most of the industrial revolution which was gathering pace.

Since then, Peugeot and later the Lion badge have been associated with saws, tools, pepper mills, coffee grinders, bicycles, motorcycles and scooters. But its cars that really made Peugeot a household name.

You don't survive over 200 years without being an innovator - and Peugeot has had its fair share of world firsts. But it's not just on the road where Peugeot has forged its reputation - it has a rich motorsport history too. In fact it competed in what's widely regarded to be the world's first ever motor race, the Paris-Bordeux-Paris Trial in 1895. 

Let's take a look at the brand's car making highlights...

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Peugeot 401 Eclipse

If you thought retractable hardtops were a modern invention, think again! Produced back in 1935 the 401 Eclipse was light years ahead of its time - it was more than 20 years until another manufacturer, Ford, reimagined the idea with its Fairlane 500 Skyliner.

Only 79 examples of the 401 Eclipse were ever built, although the technology was repeated on the 301 and 601, but it clearly made quite an impression. Nowadays the market for folding hardtops is huge - thanks largely to the 206CC which brought the technology to the masses in 2001.

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Peugeot VLV

Two-seats, an all-electric powertrain and unusual styling - the VLV has a lot in common with Peugeot BB1 concept. The only difference is it was on sale over seventy years ago!

Built during the war to provide Parisiens with a way of side-stepping fuel restrictions imposed by the occupying German forces, only 377 examples of the VLV (Voiture Légère de Ville) were built before it was banned.

It was powered by four 12V batteries placed under the hood giving it atop speed of 20 mph and a range of 50 miles per charge.

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Peugeot 205 GTi

It was one of the 80's most iconic cars and the GTi model is stillregarded by many as the most talented peugeot ever. Purists tend to prefer the less powerful 1.6-litre version over the 130bhp 1.9-litre model but both are regarded as a benchmark for what hot-hatches are all about - fun, fast and affordable.

A complete lack of electronic aids added to the car's charms but also meant massive lift-off oversteer was only a twitch of your right foot away. It's this purity of handling that Peugeot have been tying to rediscover ever since...

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Peugeot 201

Perhaps due to the hilly French countryside, Peugeot has frequently led the way with innovations in suspension systems. And the 201 was the first car to be equipped with independent front wheels, guaranteeing comfort for its occupants. And to this day Peugeot is  the only manufacturer to produce its own shock absorbers for all its models.

The 201, named purely because it was the engineering department’s 201st project, was the first car to carry a number - this evolved to become the three-digit naming system. The first digit indicates which family the vehicle belongs to and the third number indicates the model’s generation. The second number, the 0, is the link between them.

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Peugeot 403

Peugeot is also synonymous with the development of the diesel engine, which it made available for the first time on a production model, the 403, in 1959. The popularity of diesel was instant, with the 403 being the first Peugeot model to pass the one million sales mark.

And more diesel innovations were to follow: In 1975, the 604 became the first car in Europe to be equipped with a turbo diesel engine and, in 1999, the 607 was the world’s first car to be equipped with a particle emissions filter. More than 2.3 million Peugeots are equipped with the particle emissions filter.