Peugeot 203 : la voiture de nos pères qui refuse de mourir en Afrique

Peugeot 203: the car of our fathers that refused to die in Africa. In 1948, France was barely out of the war. The Peugeot factories in Sochaux were in ruins, the company's finances were at their lowest, and the Peugeot family made the riskiest decision in its history: to bet everything on a single model. From 1949 to 1955, the 203 was the one and only passenger car in the Peugeot catalog. 699,863 units, rally victories from the Liège-Rome-Liège to the Safari Rally, a Paris-Cape Town raid in 17 days, and an immortal second life in Africa and Vietnam. This is how a small sedan with a 1,290 cc, 42-horsepower engine saved Peugeot, financed Pininfarina, and forged the lion brand's reputation for absolute reliability. Music: Eyes of Glory - Aakash Gandhi, When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Cooper Cannell. Photos from the archive.org website, royalty-free images in the public domain.