Peugeot 401

Peugeot

Industry	Automotive
Founded	1810 (1810)
Headquarters	Sochaux , France
Products	Automobiles

The Peugeot 401 was a mid-range automobile manufactured by Peugeot between 1934 and 1935. It made its initial appearance at the October 1934 Paris Motor Show and was presented again during the 1935 event. Despite an extensive advertisement published in "L'Argus" in October 1935, production ceased in August of the same year as part of stock clearance efforts, and the model was subsequently removed from price listings by early 1936.

Among its variants, the Peugeot 401 Eclipse, introduced in 1934 in limited numbers, holds the distinction of being the first mass-produced coupé-convertible equipped with a retractable hardtop, engineered and constructed by Carrosserie Pourtout.

Details

Situated between the smaller Peugeot 301 and the premium Peugeot 601 in the lineup, the 401 was equipped with a 1,720 cc four-cylinder side-valve engine that generated power at 3,500 rpm. The range included the 401 D, 401 DL, and 401 DLT versions. While sedans comprised the majority of production, Peugeot offered eleven distinct body configurations to appeal to various customer preferences.

Eclipse

The concept of a retractable hardtop roof was initially patented by American inventor Ben P. Ellerbeck in 1922 and implemented on a Hudson Super Six. Nevertheless, the Peugeot 401 Eclipse was the first production vehicle to feature an electrically operated folding metal roof. In Peugeot's brochures, this feature was described as both "coupé transformable electrique" and "cabriolet metallique decouvrable," while its creator, Georges Paulin, named the mechanism "Eclipse." This innovation debuted on the 401D model through a partnership with French coachbuilder Pourtout.

Built upon the Peugeot 401D chassis, the Eclipse represented the longest and lowest variant of the 401 series, measuring long and just under tall, with a weight of . Its straight-four engine produced approximately 50 to 60 horsepower (equivalent to 12 taxable horsepower), allowing it to reach speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph). Production totaled 79 units. Additionally, Pourtout and Paulin developed Eclipse versions for the 301 and 601 models using chassis supplied by Paris-based Peugeot dealer Darl'mat.

Replacement

The introduction of the all-steel bodied Peugeot 402, recognized for its avant-garde styling, occurred in October 1935. This launch coincided with notable price reductions across earlier Peugeot models, including the discontinuation of the 401.