If there’s a Peugeot I would love to own, next to the monstrous 205T16, it would be this one. The 504 Coupé. With it’s Pininfarina body, rear wheel drive and some nice engines it’s an example of how lovely French tourers can be.
In 1969, one year after the 504 saloon, Peugeot introduced this coupé. Pininfarina wasn’t a stranger to Peugeot as they already designed it’s predecessor, the 404 coupé as well. A collaboration that was extended after this one as well as the 205 cabrio, 306 cabrio and the 406 coupé all were designed (and partially built) in Torino.
And Pininfarina did more than just put another body over the 4-door chassis. It’s wheelbase was shortened, it’s track widened. Changing gear was done by a floor shifter rather than at the steering column. Suspension was stiffened and finally only the power-house engines were made available: a mechanical fuel injected (Kügelfischer) 1800 cc (100 bhp) and somewhat later the newly developed, infamous PRV V6, an engine from a joint venture with Renault and Volvo.
In it’s mid-life update it’s 1.8 was changed for a slightly bigger 2.0 and the PRV V6 got rid of his carbs and got a Bosch K-Jetronic. Shortly after that the body got an update as well, changing chrome for more plastic and dumping the triplets 60’s style rear-lights for a more ‘80s look (we’re in 1978 now). And Peugeot and Michelin introduced ‘TRX’ tires, the Betamax of tires. These were amongst the first generations of low-profile tires but requirement for a non-standard wheel made it unsuccessful. Today’s owners of TRX-equiped cars truly imprecate these.
There also was a convertible of the 504 which was very similar to the coupé but that is something for another French Friday. Pininfarina showed the ‘Riviera’ to the world as well: a lovely shooting brake (or is it ‘Break’ for being French?) which I’m still looking for in 1/43. I also had a 504 saloon lined op for some comparison shots but this Ixo (from the James bond series) had a triangular screw my tri-screw driver couldn’t cope with, it was just too small. Maybe that’s something for another FF as well.
But back to this car. It’s a 1/43 Norev in ‘Vin Rouge’. I’m not sure if it’s a V6 or a 4-banger, this was a bit hard to tell for the pre-facelifted cars. The post-lifted V6s had a double exhaust IIRC.
And yes: I got me a new diorama. It’s just a road/bridge so I needed to create a background but we’ve got computers to solve this. No, not Photoshop, the entire laptop:
But I love it. Can’t wait to try it out more a bit with my other 1/43s. I’ve got a more ‘track-dedicated’ diorama in store for 1/43s as well but this is a Tourer. Speaking of racing: Peugeot did won the Safari Rally with a 504 Coupé V6 in 1978!
Although the production of the 504 ended in 2005 (last production wasn’t in France though but in China, Nigeria, Argentine and Kenia) the end for the 2-door 504 came way sooner. In 1983 Peugeot and Pininfarina (who built the uni-bodies/interiors after which Peugeot would mount engines/transmission and undercarriage) ended the production of the coupé and convertible. They’re quite rare, of the 26.472 units produced many are believed to be scrapped already, mainly due to some serious corrosion-issues.
Voilà pour cette semaine! Passez un excellent week-end! And see you all again online next French Friday. And probably before that.