Peugeot: some curious things you didn't know about the French brand

Peugeot turned 200 years old in the year 210, and this is always a reason for celebration and cheer for everyone, those who celebrate it and those who enjoy it with them. That is why we have dug a little into the history of the Gallic manufacturer and found a few curious things about this brand that you probably don’t know.

Logically, 200 years ago there were no cars, and for that reason Peugeot was not born in an activity linked to the automotive world, not even in that time of making carriages and calèches. Initially it was a small family business dedicated to manufacturing tools, located in a mill where a few craftsmen worked. Tools came out of there, but also saws, steel strips for corsetry or watch parts.

From 1810 until the year it presented the Peugeot Type 1 at the Paris Universal Exhibition, the brand managed to build a reputation with the manufacture of coffee grinders, salt and pepper shakers, corsets and crinolines, and sewing machines. Today it is no longer linked to the world of fashion, but it is to that of kitchen equipment, and its salt and pepper shakers are highly prized by connoisseurs.

The Eclipse technology, which we discussed in another post a few days ago, was the first used to manufacture convertibles. The Peugeot 410 was the first to receive this technology, which later passed to the Peugeot 601 and the 402. It was launched in the year 1034, but current models such as the Peugeot 207 CC or the 308 CC feature this technology. The Peugeot 108 will also enjoy it in its TOP! range.

When choosing the symbol that would define the brand, it was decided to use the lion we know today. It represents the saws they originally built. They were as resistant as the feline’s teeth and cut as its claws are supposed to.

Peugeot models receive a three-digit number, as we well know. In 1929 the Peugeot 201 was launched, which represented project number 201 coming out of the design office. Since then, that nomenclature has been used, with the first digit identifying the family of the vehicle. The third corresponds to the generation. The last years are usually an 8, although it can also carry a 1, though this is limited to the conquest markets.

The middle number 0 is kept, although if it is a crossover or another additional body style, it is doubled, forming a 00.

In 1928 Peugeot founded the Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard, the first company football club, which is considered the first sports sponsorship by a commercial brand.

Today electric cars are a reality that is gaining ground, but the brand’s first electrically powered model was built in 1941. As France suffered fuel restrictions because of World War II, the Peugeot VLV was designed, powered by four 12 V batteries connected in series. It had a range of 80 km and a top speed of 30 km/h. Only 377 units were built.

Besides this pioneering electric vehicle, Peugeot can boast an offering of two-, three- and four-wheeled vehicles. It manufactures bicycles and mopeds, in addition to the Peugeot Metropolis tricycle and a wide variety of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

And Peugeot doesn’t live only on vehicles and salt shakers, since its design laboratory works for external clients and has even designed a piano, created together with Pleyel, and a sofa made with carbon fiber and volcanic stone, the Onyx sofa.

In 1894 the first race in history was held, covering the distance between Paris and Rouen, a competition won by Peugeot. Since then it has taken part in many races and has won several of them, building a tradition of champions that places it among the best racing car manufacturers in the world.

Source | Peugeot