By Rhys Nolan.
2025 review by James Loveridge
Charisma comes from the Ancient Greek and my Oxford dictionary defines it as “a compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others” though in general usage it has come to mean any kind of charm or attraction.
There can be no doubt that there are motor cars which have it and others which don’t – for example for some people the original Mini at one end of the scale and the Ford Edsel at the other.
For Rhys Nolan in his recently published book “PEUGEOT 404” it is clear that this family saloon from Sochaux and its derivatives has charisma. Indeed it has been described as “One of the World’s Seven Best Cars” by motoring journalists of the time. This 96-page paperback is probably the most concise yet comprehensive story of this hugely successful vehicle you can get, which it should be, as Mr Nolan is the Registrar of the UK Club Peugeot for the 404.
The book is divided into chapters which tell the story of its Design Evolution, The Berline, The Cabriolet, The Coupe, The Estates and The Pickup Truck. Following chapters cover The Engine, Buying and Maintaining a 404, The 404 in Competition, Variations on the Theme and other noteworthy matters.
As is pretty obvious the 404 shares some design features with BMC’s range of Austin, Morris, Wolseley and Riley of the period as they were all from the pen of Pininfarina though, apparently, it was the Lancia Florida 1 concept of 1955 which inspired Maurice Jordan of Peugeot to use for the new AX (later A19) project. Monsieur Jordan must have been a very strong character as he insisted on the design for the 404 despite advice, including that from Farina himself.
The saloon 404 was introduced in 1960 and ceased production in France in 1975 though other variants were still made in other countries. Clearly the decision to go ahead was right as Mr Nolan reports that over 1.6 million of the basic saloon, officially given the rather up-market name of Berline, were made.
The 404 proved to be a very adaptable and desirable vehicle with both petrol and diesel engines, to the extent that in 1962 the Coupe was launched selling for 18,000 francs compared with 9,400 francs for the basic car. As something of a contrast the very basic Pickup, or Camionette, proved to be a hugely successful seller and there are some picture showing its usefulness.
Peugeot have been significant players in motor sport almost from the beginning, winning the French Grand Prix in 1912, 1913 and 1919, and this involvement was continued with the 404. Its most notable achievements were successes in the gruelling East African Safari Rally. 404s featured in many other challenging events such the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 and one was even entered and ran in the 1995 Peking to Paris event. The 404’s competition history is covered in the book.
A great deal of information is packed into this comparatively short but recommended book. In addition to what is told about the car we learn that Enzo Ferrari used a 404 as personal transport, 404s were used as support vehicles in several of the cycle Tours de France and that the 404 proved to be particularly successful in Argentina. The range of miniature models and pedal cars produced emphasise how popular this seemingly rather ordinary car really was.
The book is issued by Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4EP and is priced at £15.99. Waterstones and Coles Books have it but, at the time of writing this, Amazon do not.
Publisher: Amberley Publishing https://www.amberley-books.com/
Price: £15.99 plus postage (online price £14.39)
Description: Paperback, 96 pages.
ISBN: 978 1 3981 2141 6
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