History
In the late 1960s, the French army decided that its 10,000 Jeeps needed to be replaced. The replacement vehicle would carry four men with radio equipment and would be small enough to be parachuted and transported by plane.
After many technical issues, the new vehicle was designed in the 1970s. An agreement was settled between Peugeot and Mercedes to co-produce the vehicle by a proportion of 50% each. Peugeot mounted the engine of the Peugeot 504 and the transmission of the Peugeot 604 on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class; it also installed the electrical systems, welded the exterior and painted the car. The rest was done by Mercedes. The plant in Sochaux did the final assembly. The first prototype was tested in 1978, beginning a long series of tests and trials, notably a rally in south Algeria with a petrol and a diesel P4.
The French Army ordered 15,000 P4s, both petrol and diesel versions; in 1981, order downgraded to 13,500 units with the downsize of the Army. From 1985, production was transferred to Panhard in Marolles-en-Hurepoix, where 6,000 vehicles were produced.
A civilian version was made, but encountered little success because of a high price and a poor power-to-weight ratio.
Read more about this topic: Peugeot P4
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“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
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