Peugeot 402

Peugeot 402
Peugeot 402
Overview
ManufacturerPeugeot SA
Also calledPeugeot 402B
(name modification after October 1938)[1]
Production1935–1942
Approx 75,000 produced
Body and chassis
ClassLarge family car
Body style4-door sedan
Long-wheelbase ‘familiale’ sedan
various cabriolets and coupés
van and utility versions
LayoutFR layout
Powertrain
Engine1991 cc straight-4
1935–Oct 1938
2142 cc straight-4
Oct 1938–1942
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,880 mm (113 in) légère (light)[2]
3,150 mm (124 in)
[2]
3,330 mm (131 in) longue / familiale[2]
Length4,850 mm (190.9 in) standard steel bodied saloon
4,500 mm (177.2 in) - 5,000 mm (196.9 in) (approx)
Width1,640 mm (64.6 in)
Height1,580 mm (62.2 in)
Curb weight1,110–1,315 kg (2,447–2,899 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorPeugeot 401
SuccessorPeugeot 403
The 402 "longue" became popular with the military after Peugeot began to supply them to the French army in 1938.[2]
Peugeot 402 Eclipse.
Various low-volume coupé versions included the Peugeot 402 Darl'mat, unmistakably reminiscent of a body produced by the same coachbuilder (Carrosserie Pourtout) for Bugatti.
A 402 cabriolet on display at the 2006 Paris Auto Show (Mondial de l'Automobile). Behind this one is a Georges Paulin patented automatic folding roof in action.
Peugeot 402 B2 Légère Sport (1939). This low volume special model was in most respects a Peugeot 202, but it had a lengthened nose which accommodated the larger engine of the 402. And it was branded not as a 202 but as a special variation of Peugeot 402.

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,[3] replacing the Peugeot 401.

The Peugeot 402 stands out in automotive design by its very streamlined, but also still somewhat Art Deco styling, strongly influenced by that of the 1934 Chrysler Airflow; especially the low-volume 402 Darl'mat coupé is viewed as distinctly Art Deco. Peugeot's 402 took it two steps further, however: the grille has an even more pronounced rake, but most importantly, Peugeot brought the headlights to the center, behind the grille, and in front of the radiator, sixteen years before the 1951 General Motors Le Sabre concept car. Contrary to Chrysler's Airflow, the Peugeot 402 wasn't a sales flop.

Furthermore, the 402 Éclipse décapotable, made in collaboration with Pourtout coachbuilders, was one of the world's first convertible hard-top production cars.

Peugeot 402 Eclipse décapotable (1938)

Despite being introduced some thirteen years after the demise of the 402 during World War II, the Peugeot 403 was clearly intended as the 402's successor, given that after the war, the market first needed cheaper and smaller, more frugal cars. Peugeot saw this and thus focused on their 202 and 203 models during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

  1. ^ Odin, L.C. World in Motion 1939, The whole of the year's automobile production. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
  2. ^ a b c d "Automobilia". Toutes les Voitures Françaises 1940 - 46 (Les années sans salon). Vol. 26. Paris: Histoire & collections. 2003. p. 52.
  3. ^ "1935 : 402". peugeot.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2008-03-15.