Peugeot 203 - The Body

The Body

The 203 was the first monocoque bodied production Peugeot. The car was eye catchingly modern and bore a marked resemblance to the American Chevrolet Fleetline fastback, although its wind cheating profile also reflected the streamlining trend apparent in some of Europe's more modern designs, including some of Peugeot's own 402 model, from the 1930s.

The four-door saloon was the major seller, but from 1950 a commodious five-door estate version (Commerciale) and a six-seater (Familiale), with three rows of seats, were also offered on a wheelbase lengthened by 20 cm (7.9 in) to 278 cm (109 in). By taking the trouble to extend the wheelbase for the estate and family versions, the company set a pattern which they would follow with several succeeding generations of midsized Peugeot estate cars such as the 404 and 504.

In October 1952 the Paris Motor Show welcomed a modified 203 which now featured hinged quarter light windows on the front ends of the front doors and an enlarged rear window on the saloon/sedan versions. This upgrade also saw the removal of the speedometer from the centre of the dashboard to a position directly ahead of the driver.

Along with improvements to the existing cars, Peugeot introduced a 2-door 203 coupé at the end of 1952, although this was not as successful as hoped and quietly disappears from the brochures a year later. There were several low volume cabriolet and coupé conversions produced by outside specialists in collaboration with Peugeot available during the 203's production run, though removing the roof from an early monocoque design necessitated extensive body strengthening which added to the car's weight and reduced the performance.

A military variant was developed and presented to the military who showed little interest. The prototype was converted into a factory fire engine for the Peugeot plant.