Established by the Peugeot family in the early
19th century, then concerned with the manufacture
of various industrial products, including the
bicycle. In 1890, just 4 years after Carl Benz
and Gottlieb Daimlers invention of the motor
car, Armand Peugeot used Daimlers engine to manufacture
his own 4-wheel motor vehicle, based on his quadricycle.
A handful of other models were created before
the establishment of the Société des
Automobiles Peugeot in 1896, the company more
simply referred to today as Peugeot.
In 1897
Peugeot began the manufacture of their own engine,
and followed on with the invention of some of
the most important advances in automotive history,
including (together with Michelin) the pneumatic
tyre, use of a
steering wheel (instead of tiller)
and transmission shaft with universal joint (instead
of chain). The
Grand Prix car of 1912 was a stunning
design, using a hemi-spherical combustion chamber
with cross-flow head and 4-valves per cylinder
driven by twin overhead camshafts. Peugeot went
on to create fairly mundane models between the
wars, the most successful of which was the 201,
140,000 being manufactured between 1929 and 1936.
The company bounced back after World War 2 with
the indestructible 203, Australia playing a part
in the cars well deserved reputation following
a win in the inaugural
Redex Trial. In 1965 Peugeot
underwent massive expansion, becoming Peugeot
S.A. (PSA), a holding company controlling all
the group's different companies. PSA absorbed
the bankrupted Citroen in 1976 and the falling
European Chrysler-Simca in 1978. The group replaced
the latter by resurrecting the almost forgotten
marque
Talbot, which struggled on for a time
until 1986. Most significant of recent times,
and responsible for the reverence afforded the
marque today, was the arrival of 205 GTI in 1983.
