Peugeot 404

Peugeot 404 at a glance

The 404 is listed with Peugeot's other models in the Peugeot catalogue, and the family background is in our history of Peugeot.

A Pininfarina shape for Sochaux

Peugeot's first prototypes of the new car ran around 1957. The production 404 was shown to dealers in May 1960 and joined the older 403 in the range instead of replacing it at once. Its body came from the Pininfarina studio in Turin, and the shell is very close to another Pininfarina design of the period, the 1959 Austin Westminster. The 404 was about 5 cm shorter, narrower and lower than the 403, yet the engine grew from 1,468 cc to 1,618 cc.

The saloon measured about 4,440 mm long and 1,610 mm wide, and its wheelbase was 2,650 mm. Peugeot made its own shock absorbers, and the live rear axle with four springs gave the car, in the words of Classics World, good load capacity and comfort. The four-speed manual gearbox had a column shift with an unusual reversed gate. A Jaeger electromagnetic clutch was optional, and a three-speed ZF automatic followed in October 1966. Front disc brakes arrived on the 404/8 Confort in 1967 and spread through the range by 1969.

Production in France peaked in 1964 with 161,904 saloons. In June 1966 Peugeot built its millionth 404 at Sochaux.

A 45-degree engine, injection and a diesel

The four-cylinder engine was tilted 45 degrees to the right. In March 1962, with the new cabriolet at the Geneva Motor Show, Peugeot added Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. Peugeot's heritage association describes this as the first petrol injection on a French production car. The diesel came in 1963 with an Indénor engine of 1,816 cc, enlarged to 1,948 cc a year later with a Bosch pump.

Torque and top speeds come from the French Wikipedia table. The diesel output appears as 44 or 45 kW (60 or 61 PS DIN) and 51 kW (68 SAE hp) depending on the source. In its 1965 test of a diesel saloon, Autocar recorded a top speed of 81 mph (130 km/h) and 32.2 mpg (8.8 l/100 km). The power converter translates SAE and DIN ratings.

Saloon, Familiale, coupé and cabriolet

The convertible was shown at the Paris Motor Show in October 1961 and entered production in April 1962. The coupé followed a few months later, and the long-wheelbase Familiale, Break and Commerciale arrived in September 1962. The Familiale had seven or eight seats on three benches. A pickup with a canvas top joined the range in March 1967.

The coupé and cabriolet ended in September 1968, with 17,223 built between them, the same year the 504 arrived. In the US in 1965 the convertible cost USD 3,899, close to the price of a Jaguar E-Type. The coupé tested by Motor in 1965 reached 105.2 mph (169 km/h) and 0-60 mph in 12.2 seconds.

Safari Rally wins and Montlhéry records

The 404 won the East African Safari Rally in 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1968, the last three with fuel-injected cars. It also won the Argentine Grand Prix twice, in 1963 and 1965, and its toughness made it a popular taxi in many export markets.

In June 1965 a diesel 404 ran at the Montlhéry track near Paris for 40 international records. The 1,135 kg car averaged 161.49 km/h for 72 hours and covered 16,627 km in 103 hours.

Built on four continents

Outside France the 404 was assembled in Argentina (162,583 saloons from 1965 to 1980), South Africa (79,045), Chile (14,892), Australia (8,600), New Zealand (2,800) and Canada (about 3,100 in 1965-1968), as well as in Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Madagascar, Malaysia, Rhodesia and Uruguay. Kenya kept building pickups until 1988 and saloons until 1989, and some sources give 1991 for the very last cars.

In France the more expensive Citroën DS offered hydropneumatic suspension, while the 404 kept steel springs and a live axle. The Peugeot 504 took over the saloon role from 1968, but French 404 saloon production continued until May 1975, with 15,780 cars built in the last five months.

Peugeot 404 today: what to check when buying

Right-hand-drive cars are scarce, partly because many 404s were exported for taxi work and stayed abroad. Body condition matters more than mechanics: check the sills, floors, jacking points, door bottoms and the lower rear wings, as on any steel monocoque of the 1960s. The cabriolet and coupé have their own body panels and trim, so missing parts there are hard to replace.

Mechanically the 404 has a reputation for running hundreds of thousands of kilometres. The Kugelfischer injection pump on KF cars needs a specialist if it has been neglected, and a car sold as an injection model should still have its original pump. Check the column gear change for slack linkages and listen for a worn differential.

Values: the Classic Trader market overview covering 2021 to January 2026 places standard saloons at about EUR 10,000-25,000 in 2026, coupés and injection models from the high EUR 20,000s to about EUR 45,000, and cabriolets at about EUR 40,000-70,000 or more. Estates and utility versions usually sell for less. The 404 also features in our selection of the best classic cars of the 1960s, and other period cars are in the classic cars section.

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