Vert Emeraude

The Peugeot 404, introduced in 1960, is one of the automotive industry’s greatest designs. These cars are considered to be very well balanced; they are spacious, incredibly well laid out, very comfortable, have good roadholding, are completely effortless to drive, are easy to control in critical situations, their fuel consumption is limited, their maintenance requirements are relatively low, and their robustness is legendary. Even their susceptibility to corrosion is much less than that of most contemporary cars. In addition, the 404, like all Peugeots from 1930 onwards, already has an on-board voltage of 12 volts, something that most car manufacturers only introduced in the 1960s. These characteristics made the 404 a global success and the 404 was perhaps the second car, after Ford’s Model T, to be a real global mega-success. We are deliberately not counting the VW Beetle here because, although it was of course also a mega-success, its popularity in Africa was limited. In stark contrast to the 404, which is still a common sight on the streets of many African countries today. Over the decades they have often become completely worn out and in a pitiful state – but they are still in everyday use. In Europe, a good 2.8 million examples were built by 1975, but production in South America and Africa was far from over. The last example was not built until 1989 in Kenya! Vehicles with diesel engines were also available, and from 1961 also with petrol injection from Kugelfischer, making the 404 the first production car in France with petrol injection. However, the 404 Injection mostly stayed in Europe or North America, just like the rare coupés and convertibles, which were around 50% more expensive and of which only around 17,000 were built. There was also a huge station wagon with a longer wheelbase, sometimes as a so-called seven-seater Familiale with three rows of seats, and there was also a pick-up with a large loading area. A 404 is one of the most robust vintage cars today and you can always and everywhere trigger a wave of sympathy with a car like this.

This 404 Grand Tourisme was first registered on May 25, 1964 in St. Louis, France, in the border triangle of France, Switzerland and Germany. On August 4, 1986, the Peugeot with a mileage of 51,270 came into its second hands in Steinbourg, about 150 kilometers further north near Strasbourg. This second owner had already bought the car as a collector’s vehicle and only used it for trips in the sunshine. He owned the car for exactly thirty years and had left it idle for the last twenty years. In 2016, he sold the car with a mileage of around 57,000 to a gentleman in Flonheim, south of Bingen am Rhein. After being put back into operation, the engine showed signs of damage and was rebuilt with new cylinder liners, pistons and bearing shells. In 2024 he sold the car to a gentleman in Siegen who owns a small collection of excellently preserved French vintage cars. Although this gentleman is already over 70, he could not resist this fantastically original Peugeot. Now he is buying a smaller house as a retirement home and therefore has to reduce his collection of eight vehicles to two and has turned to us to get this unique 404 into good hands. The vehicle comes with the original Certificat de Conformité from Peugeot, as well as the warranty certificate and complete handwritten documentation of all scheduled maintenance intervals. The car is largely in its original condition, so it has never been repainted! Apart from the revised original engine, everything on the car is in super good original condition. The quite rare color 1028 vert emeraude (emerald green) is combined with beige interior (2084), with applications in vert fonce (3050). Only the rims were repainted in the original color and so that the new color was not damaged in any way, the hubcaps were not reinstalled after painting. However, they are part of the vehicle and we would attach them very carefully. When our managing director inspected the car on December 8th, 2024, the total mileage of the vehicle was only 60,281 kilometers. We are very pleased to be able to offer this truly fantastic original and fully documented 404 in vert emeraude.

The vehicle has already been secured for us, but will not be brought to us in Berlin until mid-January 2025. The car is not currently with us and the price is for the vehicle as it is at the moment. As soon as the Peugeot has arrived with us, we will examine it and can then work out our three offers. We ask for a little patience.