203 'style'

[Steven King]

The british took an age to give up on various attempts. Note that well into the '50s only Singer, Standard, Healey and Land Rover had eschewed any vestige of 'wings'.

Perfected ( IMHO, apart from that 'prow' and grill ) by Peugeot in 1948 but soon outmoded by Detroit, 'streamline' nonetheless did not hamper VW or the aforementioned Volvo.

 

[Russell Hall]

British "square rigger" styling postwar was an obvious wrong track. The Austin A40 that was the best seller in 1950 Australia or the Morris Minor still had distinct guards. How dumpy the Austin was compared to the 203.
The classic 1955 MGA had its wings as part of its streamlined front. Its aerodynamics were interesting because your hair blew forward at speed. The sleekness of the 203 body is best appreciated from a view from the rear and to the side.

 

[lo203404]

SWEET AS>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Steven King]

TOO RIGHT ! i prefer the A, and Labinal taillights do look better horizontal.
while the 'face' could be worse

i wouldn't dare muck with it ... but this is my favourite

 

[pugrambo]

SWEET AS>>>>>>>>>>>>>
View attachment 135087

They just look perfect from every angle compared to anything else on the market at the time

 

[Russell Hall]

In the right light, the purity of the early line. (Poor picture). At home in its natural landscape.

 

[Steven King]

here because Style - and Russell mentioned a 303:

nb. web finds appropriated for purposes of learned discussion, ie.;
while I cannot verify these - if this was what might have been, a Fiat reject was probably for the best.

 

[Russell Hall]

Dumont doesn't mention a 303 prototype, just a willingness to fit the new 403 engine if sales collapsed in the face of the three box Simca. Jean Pierre Peugeot was permanently pessimistic after the firm had faced potential bankruptcy in 1928. Of course the 203 had a two year waiting list the Simca didn't dent but they still worried. They were the same with the 403, worrying it wouldn't sell but it was a two year waiting list again. The worry was that they had invested heavily in tooling for a beautiful design from 1946 but it was to be produced in the 1950's. They couldn't afford a redesign, it had to run for years. At the Paris Show in 1951 the Facel designed Ford Comete was the sensation and everyone wished they had it on their stand. Batitsa Farina knocked it off for the 403. Of course the 203 ran until 1960 and the beautiful but old aerodynamic styling probably attracted as many people as it turned off. Autocar noted in 1960 it had been a while since they'd driven a car you looked along the bonnet in.
Some people preferred the 203. Paul Hasluck had owned 203's since the 1950's. When he was Minister for External Affairs his 203 was always parked on the lawn near a side door. When he was Governor General he gave the only interview I've seen about his Peugeots (he had a 403 wagon then.) He said he preferred the 203 model but you couldn't get them anymore. He liked driving them on bush tracks around Canberra.

 

[Steve Stewart]

Re your last paragraph, myself and a young bloke called boydie were practising our rally driving skills around Canberra bush tracks in early 1971. We happened upon one of the many old workmans huts that dotted the area. This time however there was a Roller parked there. It didn't have number plates, just a crown.......The GG and his family were having a picnic. Sir Paul wandered over and had a very friendly chat with us. I was driving a 403 wagon and I'm pretty sure boydie was in a 203......

Probably explained what could have been an embarrassing situation.....

 

[friday403]

Speaking of Canberra, in the early ‘80’s I attended a PCCV event that had a raffle prize of a rectangular framed picture of a line up of 203s in front of the old Parliament House. When I sold the car to Grant Roff (aka as Groff, motorcycle mag editor) the picture went with the car. Does anyone remember seeing such a photo?

 

[Russell Hall]

It was published in Torque a long time ago. Maybe the 1998 anniversary edition and again in 2003 during the re-run. Was it re-enacted then?
Memory it was after Redex - was it competitors or some of them, maybe Tubman and the dealer invited owners to bring their cars along - Graham Wallis will know.

 

[IWS]

Re your last paragraph, myself and a young bloke called boydie were practising our rally driving skills around Canberra bush tracks in early 1971. We happened upon one of the many old workmans huts that dotted the area. This time however there was a Roller parked there. It didn't have number plates, just a crown.......The GG and his family were having a picnic. Sir Paul wandered over and had a very friendly chat with us. I was driving a 403 wagon and I'm pretty sure boydie was in a 203......

Probably explained what could have been an embarrassing situation.....

Love that story!
Boydie is a member here (as you possibly know Steve) - and posts occasionally. There has been some discussion in the forum in the past on Geoff's Daimler powered 203, and the (Studebaker?) powered 403 wagon.

Steve, did you later drive a white 404 that sported two Super Oscars?
Ian.

 

[IWS]

More on Sir Paul Hasluck and his 403 Wagon. Trove has this, from the Bulletin Feb 22, 1969 - reporting on the efforts to keep quiet the imminent appointment of Hasluck to the role of Governor General there is this endearing story:

"There was first some gossip in Canberra, then a series of events which seemed to provide conclusive evidence of what was going on … [Hasluck] was so camera shy he broke his longstanding rule of escorting new' ambassadors to Government House and sent Mr. Anthony and then Mr. Nixon. He also broke parking regulations in order to get to his office in Parliament House with minimum risk of being seen by photographers. He drove his old, battered, chocolate-colored Peugeot station wagon as usual, but parked it illegally, though conveniently, right next to the side entrance."​

This, and Steve's story above, puts Sir Paul in a new light for me

Ian.

 

[Steve Stewart]

Love that story!
Boydie is a member here (as you possibly know Steve) - and posts occasionally. There has been some discussion in the forum in the past on Geoff's Daimler powered 203, and the (Studebaker?) powered 403 wagon.

Steve, did you later drive a white 404 that sported two Super Oscars?
Ian.

I did but I'm also aware that another mutual friend (in Canberra) ran a white 69ner with Super Oscars. Not sure what thread I'm in at present but my appreciation of pugs extends back through 203's 403's 404's and 504's. A long hiatus over many years then a return to the fold with a 2018 3008 GTline and my personal favorite, a recently acquired 69 404 (with slightly smaller Cibies) happy days !!

 

[Russell Hall]

This French advertisement from 1950 sums up how Peugeot saw the styling of the 203. Elegant and ever so French.

 

[alpine]

Speaking of Canberra, in the early ‘80’s I attended a PCCV event that had a raffle prize of a rectangular framed picture of a line up of 203s in front of the old Parliament House. When I sold the car to Grant Roff (aka as Groff, motorcycle mag editor) the picture went with the car. Does anyone remember seeing such a photo?

 

[alpine]

It was published in Torque a long time ago. Maybe the 1998 anniversary edition and again in 2003 during the re-run. Was it re-enacted then?
Memory it was after Redex - was it competitors or some of them, maybe Tubman and the dealer invited owners to bring their cars along - Graham Wallis will know.

Old Parliament House 203 line up photo was taken by Flash Flanagan.
early in 1954 Canberra 203 owners were invited to meet Ken Tubman 1953 Redex winner
a great photo

 

[Russell Hall]

Peugeot made much of the "Sochaux Rocket" streamlined styling of the 402 but the CX was only in the order of .51 compared to (according to La Vie Automobile) wind tunnel confirmed CX of .36 for the 203.
Styling may have trumped practicality as regards light positioning as evidenced by the factory entry in Rome -Liege -Rome just pre-war, with the lights repositioned.

 

[Flash Car 76]

Old Parliament House 203 line up photo was taken by Flash Flanagan.
early in 1954 Canberra 203 owners were invited to meet Ken Tubman 1953 Redex winner
a great photo

Ken Tubman had been invited to Parliament House to meet the PM Bob Menzies. Bob Menzies wanted to meet Ken and John Marshal after they had won the 1953 Redex and it was arranged that they meet him at Parliament House for lunch in late January 1954. The Canberra dealers at the time, Larke Hoskins who sold Austins, Briscoes* (never heard of them), Buicks and Peugeots, invited all the people who had bought a 203 from them to Parliament House and arranged for their 203s to be lined up in front of Parliament House while Tubman and Marshal were inside with the PM. The Redex winning 203 was parked around at the side entrance so is not in the photo.
Vin Liston, who worked at the Government Printer, walked over in his lunch hour and took the photo with his Box Brownie. He gave me the photo and I had five enlargements made and framed. I have one, Carolyn has one, I gave one to Gordon Miller, one to Ann Cozier and one was presented as a door prize at an 03 Weekend (we still have mine and Carolyn's). The original photo went back to Vin. What amazed me was that Vin could name the owners of all but three of the 203s and I was so stupid not to ask him to write them down for me. He said he had a photo of the Winning Redex car too but could not find it. Not bad really for photos taken 40 or so years before.

* Just found out that a Briscoe is a Reo model (learn something new every day)

 

[Steven King]

Pete found this

https://classicandsportscar.com/features/peugeot-203-special-darlmat-frances-unlikeliest-sports-saloon

- which would appear to save me having this ( found about 12 years ago I don't know where ) translated

"... Rabotage de la carrosserie

Extérieurement, une 203 Spécial Darl’mat,
c’est d’abord une ligne nettement plus effilée et une position
rabaissée sur la route. « Toute la section haute de la carrosserie,
capot et montants, était raccourcie d’environ 7 cm dans la partie
basse. » Opération réalisée dans les ateliers Darl’- Mat. Ce qui
imposait le retaillage des six vitres latérales, déflecteur compris, et
du pare-brise. « C’était fait chez Sagaie, qui existe toujours. »
Parallèlement, et toujours pour abaisser l’auto, les lames de ressorts
AV étaient démontées, retournées et deux autres petites lames étaient
rajoutées, une dessus le paquet, l’autre dessous pour durcir
l’ensemble. Une fois refixées, c’était sept nouveau centimètres de
gagnés. A l’AR, il fallait évidemment gagner sur la hauteur de caisse.
Cette fois, ce sont les ressorts hélicoïdaux qui passaient à la forge.
Coupés de sept centimètres, chauffés au rouge, puis retrempés dans de
l’huile pour leur redonner leur élasticité. Enfin, pour que tous ces
efforts ne soient pas réduits à néant par les amortisseurs à bras,
ceux-ci étaient remplis avec une huile très épaisse. Toutes ces
modifications concourrent à donner cette impression d’auto râblée,
courte sur pattes, style rase-bitume et aspirateur à gravillons.<br>
Impression accentuée par les ailes AR dont les passages de roues sont
fermés par un carénage démontable. Et le petit aileron qui jaillit du
capot AR. « Une pièce emboutie, la porte de malle étant entièrement
formée à la main dans nos ateliers. C’est sans doute Géo Ham qui a
dessiné cette dérive. » Petite surprise, la disparition de la trappe à
essence, sur l’aile AR droite. Et pour cause, l’orifice de remplissage
a émigré dans le coffre AR.
Modification qui n’a, semble-t-il, pas été réalisée
sur tous les modèles.
Esthétiquement, le travail extérieur ne s’arrêtait pas là. Outre les
magnifiques cimiers d’ailes réalisés chez Darl’mat, la calandre est
également un monument. Formée à la main, poncée, polie et nickelée,
elle donne à la 203 Spécial une évidente agressivité que la calandre
à barrettes fines de la berline ne possède pas. Les flèches latérales
de custode ont, quant à elles, disparues, remplacées par des clignotants
fixés quasiment à l’aplomb des phares AV. A l’AR, l’ensemble de
feux optiques est estampillé Labinal et a été installé dès
l’origine sur les Spécial Darl’mat, alors que Peugeot attendra le
millésime 1955 pour réaliser cette amélioration.
On notera, enfin, les enjoliveurs de bas d’aile AV et d’aile AR qui témoignent
plus d’un évident souci d’esthétisme que d’une recherche forcenée
de la performance. Car on ne nous fera pas croire que le chrome permet à
l’air de mieux glisser sur la carrosserie ! Ceci étant, le fait de
rabaisser ainsi la voiture et de caréner les passages de roues AR améliore
notablement le Cx de cette 203
Sur ce modèle, réalisé en 1953, d’autres
particularités ne sautent pas forcément aux yeux. Car, en dehors de la
grande lunette (commercialisée cette année-là sur la gamme), tout le
soubassement est emprunté non plus à une berline, mais à une découvrable.
Ce qui sera le lot de toutes les Spécial Darl’mat à compter de cette
date. Pour une raison très simple : « les caissons de la découvrable étaient
beaucoup plus larges et davantage renforcés. Ce qui, pour une auto dont
la vocation était tout de même sportive, présentait un avantage majeur
et nous évitait tout le travail de renfort que nous étions obligés de réaliser
sur les premiers modèles. » De fait, ces renforts apparaissent dans
toute leur splendeur lorsqu’on ouvre les portières AV, côté passage
de roue et la malle AR.
A l’intérieur, les modifications sont sans doute moins visibles.
D’autant que la planche de bord ressemble à s’y méprendre à celle
d’une 203 avec son compteur demi-lune gradué jusqu’à 150 km/h
(autrement dit, quand on pousse à fond la quatrième surmultipliée,
l’aiguille se jette avec avidité dans la boîte à gants !), son volant
deux branches décentrées et gros moyeu central, ses vitesses au volant,
son correcteur d’avance manuelle et le côté laque de Chine de la
planche. A une grosse exception près. Car, à gauche du volant, trône un
petit compte-tours Jaeger incrusté dans la tôle de la planche de bord et
gradué jusqu’à 6.000 tours.
Autre changement d’importance celui-là, la sellerie. Tout cuir. « C’était,
là encore, fait chez nous par Roger, un type bourru qui ne s’affolait
jamais, très adroit de ses mains, et amoureux de son métier. » Avec de
petits accoudoirs pour les passagers AR, histoire d’améliorer encore
leur confort. Et avec des assises suffisamment épaisses pour jouer le rôle...
d’amortisseurs.
Evidemment, la partie supérieure de la carrosserie ayant été rabaissée,
on est un peu emprunté aux entournures et c’est la tête dans les épaules
que les grands gabarits devaient s’apprêter à passer la première. Et
c’est encore plus net lorsqu’on se jette sur la banquette AR,
d’autant qu’il n’est alors pas question de passer le coude à
travers la portière, la vitre n’étant que demi-descendante, découpe
de porte pour passage de roue proéminent oblige ..."