The Peugeot 401 was a

mid-size Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...

model from

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

produced in 1934 and 1935. It was introduced at the October 1934

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

and was again on display at the 29th Paris Show of 1935. It featured in a full page newspaper advertisement placed by Peugeot in "L'Argus" on 10 October 1935, and disappeared from the manufacturer's price list only three months later, at the start of 1936, reflecting the need to dispose of an inventory backlog. Production of the 401 had already come to an end in August 1935, less than a year after the model's introduction. The Peugeot 401 was the first car to be built (by coachbuilder

Carrosserie Pourtout Carrosserie Pourtout was a French coachbuilding company. Founded by Marcel Pourtout in 1925, the firm is best known for its work in the decades prior to World War II, when it created distinctive and prestigious bodies for cars from numerous Europe ...

) as a coupé-convertible, with a

retractable hardtop A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars. The benefits ...

, that could be moved and stowed under a reverse-hinged rear luggage lid.

Details

1935 Peugeot 401 D Coach Coupé by Meulemeester

The 401 was powered by an enlarged version of the engine from the smaller

Peugeot 301 The Peugeot 301 is a Subcompact (B-segment) sedan produced by the French automaker Peugeot since 2012. It was announced to the public in May 2012, with an official launch that took place at the Paris Motor Show in September. The 301 is built at ...

and slotted between that model and the range-topping 601. The 401's four cylinder side-valve engine displaced 1,720 cc and produced at 3,500 rpm. Models of the 401 include the 401 D, 401 DL, and 401 DLT. Though the majority were made as

sedans A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...

, the 401 was offered with no fewer than eleven different body styles.

Eclipse

Peugeot built an electric folding metal roof more than twenty years before

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

reimagined the concept in their (Galaxie) Skyliner Retractable. Peugeot seemed unsure what to call the car – their catalog spoke of both "coupé transformable electrique" and "cabriolet metallique decouvrable" – the system was simply called "Eclipse" by its original inventor and designer

Georges Paulin Georges Paulin was a French Jewish dentist, acclaimed and inventive automobile designer and coachwork stylist, and died as a hero of the French Resistance during World War II. Born 1902 in a working class section of Paris, Paulin was a pioneer of ...

. It was first introduced by Paulin, in collaboration with premier French

coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

, on the 401D.1935 Peugeot Model 401D Eclipse: The first retractable hardtop
/ref> The Eclipse was built on a standard Peugeot model 401D's chassis. It ranks as both the longest and lowest of the 401 models:
long and just under tall, weighing . The 401D straight four engine was rated at 12 ''taxable'' horsepower, roughly the equivalent of 50 to 60 horsepower, enough to propel the Eclipse to about 100 km/h (62 mph). A total of 79 Peugeot 401 Eclipses were made. Pourtout and Paulin also built ''Eclipse'' coaches of the 301 and 601, on chassis provided by Paris Peugeot-dealer

Darl'mat Émile Darl'mat (1892–1970) was the creator and owner of a Peugeot distributor with a car body business established at the rue de l'Université in Paris in 1923. In the 1930s the firm gained prominence as a low volume manufacturer of Peugeot-b ...

Replacement

The all-steel bodied

Peugeot 402 The Peugeot 402 is a large family car produced in Sochaux, France from 1935 to 1942 by Peugeot. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1935, replacing the Peugeot 401. The Peugeot 403, introduced approximately thirteen years after the d ...

, featuring a style regarded at the time as strikingly futuristic, was announced in October 1935, which coincided with significant price reductions for several of the previous generation of Peugeots, including the 401.

References

{{Peugeot historic timeline 401 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1934