- Peugeot 104
Infobox Automobile
name = Peugeot 104
manufacturer = PSA Group
class = Supermini
body_style = 2-door saloon
4-door saloon
3-doorhatchback
5-door hatchback
engine = 1.0 L Douvrin I4
production = 1972–88
layout =FF layout
related =Citroën LN / LNACitroën Visa Talbot Samba
successor =Peugeot 205
similar =Renault 5
designer =Paolo Martin |The Peugeot 104 is a supermini motor car designed by
Paolo Martin and produced by the French car manufacturerPeugeot between 1972 and 1988.Body variations
On its launch in 1972, the Peugeot 104 was a four-door saloon until a facelift in 1976, when a
hatchback was added. With power from 1.0 to 1.4 L engines, it gave good levels of economy and refinement as well as having an impressive chassis which made ride and handling excellent.The 104 was also sold as a two-door saloon and later hatchback. While the basic silhouette of the four-door car was the same regardless of whether it had a separate boot or a full hatchback, the two-door hatchback sat on a shortened chassis.
Though the 104 was produced in various forms from 1972 to 1988, the heart of the car was the
Douvrin engine /PSA X engine , (all alluminium alloy, chain driven overhead cam, with gearbox in the sump, sharing engine oil, mounted almost on its side), which was jointly developed withRenault . This transmission-in-sump arrangement, was similar to that pioneered by theBritish Motor Corporation in theMini .Related cars
Citroën LN / LNA
By 1975, Peugeot had taken over
Citroën (forming thePSA Group ), and the 104 bodyshell then formed the basis of the 602 cc two-cylinder enginedCitroën LN . In 1982 this car was fitted with the more modern 652 cc engine of the Visa in 1983 to become the LNA, before production finally ceased in 1985.Citroën Visa
The mechanical configuration of the 104 was also used in the
Citroën Visa , leading to the abandonment of theCitroën Prototype Y plan for the Visa, although that plan went on to be used onRomania n-built cars. The Visa, unlike the LN / LNA, had its own distinctive body style.Talbot Samba
A derivative of the 104 with a slightly longer rear section (but two side doors plus hatchback) would later exist as the
Talbot Samba , following Peugeot's acquisition ofChrysler Europe (and its Talbotmarque ) in 1978. A cabriolet version of the Samba was developed.Market impact and replacement
The Peugeot 104 was one of the most successful European small cars of the 1970s but it was starting to show its age against more modern rivals by the turn of the 1980s. When Peugeot launched the stylish all-new 205 in 1983, the 104 was withdrawn from most European markets, including Britain. But it continued in France as a budget choice until production finally ceased in May 1988 after 16 years in which 1,624,992 Peugeot 104s were built.
External links
* [http://www.club-104-peugeot.org/index.htm Club 104 Peugeot]
* [http://www.drivearchive.co.uk/article1.asp Drive Archive article]
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