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Saloons & estates

Peugeot 403

Pininfarina · 1955

Peugeot’s first million-seller wasn’t an engineering leap — it was Pininfarina’s first mass-market ponton, and it rewrote the rules for French family cars.

Worth your time?3.5/5Yes.Drive the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
9:40in productionCh. 1 · Debuted in Paris/ 9:40 · ceiling 15 min
4 chapters · 9:40Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.4 chapters · 1 min read · 9:40 planned

Read the brief

The Peugeot 403 is a mid-size saloon launched by Peugeot in April 1955 and styled by Pininfarina. It used a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and a 4-speed manual transmission. Its 1468 cc pushrod straight-four engine produced 58 hp, later increased to 65 hp. It featured ponton, three-box styling and a metal sunroof on most models. Over 1.2 million were built — the first Peugeot to exceed one million sales. The collaboration with Pininfarina marked the start of a fifty-year design partnership. A diesel estate debuted in autumn 1958.

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Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:00
    Debuted in Paris

    Launched at the Trocadéro Palace in Paris on 20 April 1955, the 403 was Peugeot’s new mid-size saloon — built to last and built to sell.

  2. 2:44
    Styled by Pininfarina

    Pininfarina’s ponton, three-box design defined its silhouette — and began a fifty-year partnership shaping Peugeot’s mainstream identity.

  3. 4:28
    Built to Scale

    1,214,121 units sold. A pushrod four-cylinder engine grew from 58 hp to 65 hp — modest power, engineered for reliability.

  4. 5:45
    First Diesel Estate

    The diesel estate arrived in autumn 1958 — Peugeot’s first diesel passenger car, and the start of its long diesel lineage.

1 more chapterFewer chapters
Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

3.5/ 5
What works
  • ponton, three-box styling
  • metal sunroof on most models
  • front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout
  • 4-speed manual transmission
What does not
  • independent rear suspension
  • disc brakes as standard
  • unitary construction
Drive it if
  • buyers who prioritised durability, practicality and incremental modernity
  • drivers seeking sporty handling
  • drivers seeking high-speed stability
Skip it if
  • drivers seeking technical innovation
Who should drive it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

A mid-size saloon launched by Peugeot in April 1955, styled by Pininfarina and built from May 1955 to October 1966.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

Front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Four-speed manual transmission. Pushrod-actuated straight-four engine with hemispherical combustion chambers and crossflow cylinder head.

What it gets right

Ponton, three-box styling gives clean visual separation of engine, cabin and boot. Metal sunroof (fitted to most models) adds light and air without compromising roof rigidity.

What it does not

It does not offer independent rear suspension. It does not feature disc brakes as standard. It does not use unitary construction — its chassis is separate from the body.

What it changed

It launched a fifty-year design partnership between Peugeot and Pininfarina, beginning with mainstream volume models.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for buyers who prioritised durability, practicality and incremental modernity over performance or novelty. It is not for drivers seeking sporty handling, high-speed stability or technical innovation.

Is it worth your time

Yes — as the first Peugeot to pass one million sales, it anchors a pivotal shift in postwar European mass motoring.

Same garage · Saloons & estates4 of 80
9:12
Peugeot 404Pininfarina · 1960The Peugeot 404 is a large family car produced by Peugeot from 1960 to 1975. Styled by Pininfarina, it launched as a saloon, estate, and pickup. A convertible arrived in 1962; a coupé in 1963. It used a 1.6 litre petrol engine (Solex carburetor or Kugelfischer fuel injection) or a 1.9 litre diesel. A 3-speed ZF automatic was optional. It gained fame as a taxicab and earned a reputation for durability and value. Its bodyshell closely resembles that of the 1959 Austin Westminster.
9:12
Peugeot 405Pininfarina · 1987The Peugeot 405 is a large family car designed by Peugeot and styled by Pininfarina, produced from 1987 to 1997 in Europe and under license in Iran until 2020. It shares its floorpan with the Citroën BX but lacks hydropneumatic suspension except on 4x4 variants. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1988 by the largest number of votes in the history of the contest. About 2.5 million vehicles have been sold worldwide, both in left and right drive versions, as a saloon and estate. In early 2020, the 33-year production run of the Peugeot 405 was counted as the 'twentieth most long-lived single generation car in history'. Its appearance is similar to the Alfa Romeo 164, launched the same year and also styled by Pininfarina.
9:52
Peugeot 203Peugeot · 1948The Peugeot 203 is a foundational post-war saloon. Its monocoque structure, coil-sprung chassis and rack-and-pinion steering set new internal benchmarks. It carried Peugeot alone for six years. It sold nearly 700,000 units. It offered three body variants on two wheelbases. It used one engine, one drivetrain, one brake system. It was rational, not revolutionary.
11:09
Peugeot 406Pininfarina · 1997The Peugeot 406 Coupé is a front-wheel-drive large family car designed and built by Pininfarina. It shares its platform with the saloon and estate. Davide Arcangeli led its design. 107,633 were made. It succeeded in UK fleet sales, won 1997 What Car? Car of the Year, and set a world fuel-efficiency record in 2002.
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10:06