Peugeot 204

The Peugeot 204 is a small family car that the French maker Peugeot produced from 1965 to 1976, known in development as Project D12. It was launched in Paris on 23 April 1965 and became the best-selling car in France from 1969 to 1971. It was the first Peugeot to use front-wheel drive, with a transversely mounted aluminium engine and the gearbox and differential below the block, and the first to have disc brakes, fitted to the front wheels only. The launch engine was a single overhead cam 1130 cc petrol unit, and from late 1968 a 1255 cc diesel was offered on the estate and van, thought to be the smallest diesel fitted to a commercially available car anywhere. Pininfarina styled the body, which came as a saloon at launch, a five-door station wagon less than six months later, a two-door cabriolet in 1966 and further body styles including a coupe and a van.