Elegance of the “Art Déco”: the Peugeot 402 celebrates its 90th anniversary

In an era marked by uniformity in the aesthetics of cars, Peugeot dared to step forward with the launch of the appeal and elegant Peugeot 402 in 1935.

Strongly influenced by the design of the great American Berlinas of the time, which can be seen in elements such as curved lines, the rounded profile, the windshield divided into two parts, the large body or the presence of six windows, this model introduced Many original elements and was the starting point for all kinds of studies and innovations.

Presented at the Paris Salon of 1935, Peugeot 402 reached the market with the mission of replacing two key models in the range: the Peugeot 401 and 601. Its unmistakable design is the work of Henri Thomas, in that time responsible for the Department of Studies of body in the firm of Sochaux.

True to the philosophy of the brand, avoided complicated and expensive solutions and opted for fluid and balanced forms that would lay the aesthetic bases of the lion’s models until World War II. On the sides, he suppressed the stirrups, common in the 30s, while the front and in the rear, bet on the originality of integrating the front headlights and rear pilots in the body, for the first time in the history of the car.

Peugeot 402’s style was strongly influenced by the great aesthetic currents of his time. On the one hand, the “Streamline Modrne”, also known as “aerodynamic style”, brings beauty and functionality to its silhouette, in addition to giving a sensation of speed and dynamism. In the 30s, it was synonymous with modernity. To the same, the “Art Déco” leaves its mark on its long and horizontal lines, its chain of curved areas, small windows and the presence of elements inspired by the nautical world.

As usual in those years, the Peugeot 402 was marketed in a large number of silhouettes and bodies, such as inner driving, the 4 -seater coach cabriolet, the 2 -seater roadster, the commercial and 402 L, designed as a taxi and Limuse, with a length of 3.30 meters.

Special mention deserves the Peugeot 402 Eclipse, equipped with a rigid roof, of the body color, which was folded and automatically collected in the holder with the help of an electric command. A revolution as a result of the work of designer Georges Paulin and the body Marcel Pourtoout.

All versions of Peugeot 402 were backed by a modern 4 -cylinder engine and 1,991 cm3 that developed 55 hp and allowed to reach 120 km/h. However, the 402 Andreau prototype, also known as N4X, went further in terms of aerodynamics and stretched the benefits of this mechanic to 140 km/h, also reducing consumption by 30%.

As a reflection of French car elegance, Peugeot 402 has enjoyed a long film career and not only in the neighboring country. In Hollywood productions, “midnight” (1939), by Mitchell Leisen, with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche and “The Knights prefer them blondes” (1953), which featured the stellar performance of Marilyn Monroe.

In our country, you can see in the British film set in Valencia “the boy who stole a million” (1960), in the Spanish “an almost formal girl” (1963) and, more recently, in the Netflix series “the Cable girls ».

In his sports facet, Peugeot 402 Darl’mat, which had outstanding performances in the 24 hours of Le Mans, including a victory in the 2-liter category with the Cortanze-Cortet team, opening the way to new Peugeot victories until Our days.