Peugeot 203

Few persons responsible for developing new cars at Peugeot managed, in spite that France was occupied and plundered, already during the Second World War, to make plans for a new car. Faithful to the definition of the zero in the middle, this car received the name 203. Consistently with the production, this car is assigned to the company in the first five-year plan of the french government after the war. It differed considerably from its predecessor, the 202, which was further produced directly after the war until 1948. With its integrated (however welded) fenders and the self-supporting bodywork from steel it was up-to-date. The competitors at that time were the Citroen 2 CV and the Renault 4 CV. But they were smaller and lower priced. Thus it is not surprising that the popularity of this car generated relatively fastly long delivery times. It was no eye-catcher, but convincing on a continuing basis. This applied to the engine and also the bodywork. Just the (first series) gearboxes were a little sensitive.