Within the late 1970s, the french military He desperately wanted a alternative for his getting older Hotchkiss-Willys. These multi-purpose gentle autos have been falling aside, to the purpose that Citroën needed to promote its Mehari for army use as an emergency answer. Within the early 1980s, Peugeot received the tender to provide greater than 10,000 gentle off-roaders the military. His proposal was referred to as Peugeot P4, and it was surprisingly much like the Mercedes G-Class. That is its curious story.
Any tender for a public physique as necessary as a military, will need to have at the least 50% of nationwide parts for approval – an particularly necessary rule if we speak about France, a historically protectionist state. However Peugeot knew that it couldn’t current a 100% viable mission by itself. Due to this fact, the P4 mission was carried out by a curious transnational alliance, whose equation had German and Austrian parts. At the moment, we now have to assessment the Mercedes g class, launched in the marketplace within the late 70s.
The French military urgently wanted a alternative for its Hotchkiss-Willys and its flimsy army Citroën Mehari.
It was born in the identical manner because the Peugeot P4, a army mission. Initiated to the needs of the Shah of Iran – then a majority shareholder in Mercedes and executed by Daimler, Steyr and PuchIt was an all-rounder that stood out for its glorious off-road capabilities, contained dimension and nice reliability. Mercedes wrote off the event prices of the Geländewagen by producing a civilian model – which continues to be on sale because the Mercedes G-Class. Though it’s a particularly luxurious oriented automobile, it nonetheless retains its 4×Four skills.
The Peugeot P4 was primarily a Mercedes G-Class. Peugeot acquired from Steyr-Daimler-Puch the chassis and our bodies, unpainted and with out the remainder of the parts that make up a full assembled automobile. Mercedes equipped Peugeot with the steering system, its axles and its gearbox. Peugeot was then accountable for assembling its engines and gearbox in France.. Outwardly, solely the Peugeot emblem put in on the entrance – and never on all variations – made it clear that it was not a Mercedes G-Class.
Not less than 50% of the added worth of the Peugeot P4 needed to be of French origin. Engine, gearbox and different parts have been French.
Its four-speed guide gearbox was taken from a Peugeot 604 and its engine was the well-known gasoline XN8. A two-liter four-cylinder with simply 84 hp, which was additionally put in within the Peugeot vary of passenger automobiles, particularly within the 504 and 505. Likewise, the French military ordered the availability of some Peugeot P4 outfitted with diesel engines. This engine was once more a four-cylinder, 2.5-liter, atmospheric aspiration, with a energy of solely 75 hp and a prime pace restricted to a scant 108 km / h.
They have been gentle machines, with a curb weight of 1,895 kilos, they usually retained virtually all of the enviable off-road qualities of the Mercedes G-Class. The one comparative offense was their no differential lock on the entrance axle – and it didn’t actually have an effect on his off-road motor abilities an excessive amount of. All Peugeot P4s have been manufactured with pick-up physique, with canvas doorways and rear cowl. These pick-ups had two entrance seats and two benches on the rear.
After 5 years, all of the gasoline P4s have been transformed to diesel use, easier in logistical phrases.
They have been manufactured briefly wheelbase and lengthy wheelbase variations – 2,400 mm and a pair of,800 mm respectively. Field variations have been additionally made, and a few armored items for senior positions within the French military. These Peugeot P4 ended up getting used additionally by the armed forces of some French-speaking African nations, former French colonies equivalent to Mali or Senegal. On the finish of their manufacturing, the Peugeot P4s largely outfitted XD3 turbocharged engines from the Peugeot 505, with 95 hp energy.
Just like the Mercedes G-Class, the Peugeot P4s have been additionally offered to the civilian inhabitants. To discourage the general public, its value was raised: in 1987 a P4 diesel pick-up offered for 187,000 francs, a value 50% larger than a Land Rover Defender 90 of the time. It’s estimated that its manufacturing was about 13,500 items, of which 6,000 have been totally produced by Panhard from 1986 on – Panhard was the army division of the PSA Group. It was discontinued within the mid-1990s.
The curious case of the Peugeot P4 V6
Barely a handful of two.eight V6-powered items have been constructed by Peugeot. The mission started because of the initiative of the ASA 1000, an affiliation of army contributors in car competitions. They satisfied the excessive command of ptake part within the Paris-Dakar with a specifically ready P4, because of a 170 hp engine utilized in high-end Peugeot. In 1985, two items began the Dakar, and though one didn’t end, the second Peugeot P4 completed 27th general.
The Peugeot P4 V6 raced the Dakar 3 times, and accompanied Vatanen and Kankkunen one other two occasions.
For the following version, they mounted a extra highly effective engine, with an extra 10 hp and a revised operating gear. In 1987 and 1988 the Peugeot P4s have been the Peugeot 205 T16 help automobiles from Vatanen and Kankkunen. The Peugeot P4 V6s returned to the African desert three extra occasions, all the time within the fingers of the press division of the French model, and all the time appearing as assist autos for particular occasions: checks within the desert of the Peugeot vary and even a presentation of the curious Peugeot Companion Grand Raid.
Add Comment