{{Infobox automobile | name = Peugeot 201 | image = Peugeot 201 C 18-59-ZE pic7.JPG | manufacturer = [[Peugeot|Peugeot SA]] | class = | body_style = [[sedan (car)|4-door saloon]]<br/>other bodies available | layout = [[FR layout]] | platform = | engine = 1085 cc – 1465cc [[Straight-four engine|I4]] | production = 1929–1937<br/>142,309 units | predecessor = [[Peugeot Type 190]] | successor = [[Peugeot 202]] | length = {{convert|3800|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|1350|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} | height = | weight = {{convert|890|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} | wheelbase = {{convert|247|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} | track = | related = | designer = | | caption = Peugeot 201C | assembly = [[Sochaux]], France }}
The '''Peugeot 201''' is a car produced by [[Peugeot]] between 1929 and 1937.
The car was manufactured at the company's [[Sochaux]] plant near [[Canton of Jura|the Swiss frontier]], and is today celebrated in the adjacent [[:fr:Musée de l'Aventure Peugeot|Peugeot museum]]. Although Peugeot had produced a petrol/gasoline-powered motor vehicle as early as 1886, the Peugeot 201 may reasonably be seen as the company's first mass-produced model.<ref name="peugeot.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.peugeot.com/en/history/a-century-of-models/1920-1930/1929--201.aspx|title=1929 : 201|access-date=2008-03-17|work=peugeot.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206235329/http://www.peugeot.com/en/history/a-century-of-models/1920-1930/1929--201.aspx|archive-date=2012-02-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==History== The Peugeot 201 was presented at the 1929 [[Paris Motor Show]] with the backdrop of the [[Wall Street crash]]. While many European manufacturers did not survive the ensuing [[Great Depression|depression]], the 201's image as an inexpensive car helped Peugeot to survive the economic crisis with its finances intact and its status as a major auto producer confirmed.<ref name=Automobilia1932>{{cite book |section=Automobilia |title=Toutes les Voitures Françaises 1932 (salon [Paris, Oct] 1931): Comme tous constructeurs français, Peugeot souffre de la dépression économique mondiale et ses cadences de production s'effondrent. [...] Malgré ce ralentissement sensible de son activité en 1932, Peugeot traverse la crise sans trop de dommages grâce à la 201 dont le caractère économique devient un argument déterminant dans cette période difficile.|volume=80s| pages = 74|year = 2006|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref>
==Models== During the 1930s Peugeot offered several variants of the 201, mostly with increasing engine capacity. The exception is the 1085 cc engine in the competition-oriented '''201 S''' and '''CS'''. Presented in March 1932, 403 examples were built until July of the same year. The engine's stroke was shortened from {{cvt|90|to|87|mm|in|2}}, with the {{cvt|63|mm|in|2}} bore remaining unchanged; power increased to {{cvt|30|hp-metric|kW|0}}.
Initially, the 201 range was powered by a 1122 cc engine developing {{cvt|23|hp-metric|kW|0}} at 3500 rpm (top speed: 80 km/h / 50 mph). This was followed by a {{cvt|28|hp-metric|kW|0}} engine of 1307 cc in September 1934, when the revised '''201 D''' (and the longe wheelbase '''DL''' light truck derivative) were introduced. The D models also benefitted from a fully synchronized transmission. The final development was when the '''201 M''' was presented in August 1936. This model was not a 201 per se, it was a decontented version of the recently discontinued [[Peugeot 301|301]].<ref name=Lecruchon>{{cite web | url = http://lecruchon2.free.fr/1934_Peugeot-201-br3-2.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240225183743/http://lecruchon2.free.fr/1934_Peugeot-201-br3-2.htm | archive-date = 2024-02-25 | title = Le Restauration Peugeot 201 BR3 | language = fr | work = Voitures Anciennes Photos et Fiches Techniques }}</ref> At the same time, that model was replaced by the new [[Peugeot 302|302]]. The 201 M kept the 301's 1465 cc unit of {{cvt|35|hp-metric|kW|0}} and could reach a claimed top speed of {{cvt|100|km/h|mph|0}}.
The Peugeot '''201 C''', launched in 1931, is claimed{{By whom|date=May 2019}} to be the first mass-produced car equipped with [[Independent suspension|independent front suspension]], a concept rapidly adopted by the competition. The simpler beam front axle version remained available, but the optional independent suspension system reportedly improved road holding and reduced steering column vibration.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
<gallery widths=200 heights=145> Peugeot 201 001.jpg|The 201 was typical of many western European family saloons in the 1930's where the standard body was redesigned to incorporate new ideas about streamlining. Peugeot 201 003.jpg|Interior </gallery>
==Naming== In the early twentieth century, car manufacturers paid little attention to the naming of their vehicles. The 201's predecessor, the [[Peugeot Type 190|Type 190]], is so named because it was the 190th distinct design developed by Peugeot. However, at the time few customers would have been aware of the name "Type 190". Even in the company's own brochures, the car now known as the Type 190 was simply called "La 5CV Peugeot" (The Peugeot 5 hp).
For Peugeot, a new naming scheme was introduced when the Type 190 was replaced by Peugeot 201.<ref>[[Musée de l'Aventure Peugeot]]. The exhibit label (2012) states: « Jusqu'à présente le modèles Peugeot se suivaient dans une numérotation plus ou moins logique qui d'ailleurs n'était que peu utilise par la publicité. Par exemple le 190 S était présenté dans les brochures sous le nom « Le 5 CV Peugeot ». Avec la 201 une ère novelle commence.»</ref> The 201 was the first Peugeot to carry a name comprising three numerals with a central zero, a naming scheme continued with the [[Peugeot 301 (1932–36)|301]] and [[Peugeot 401|401]]. Peugeot took effective steps to protect all such automobile names, to the discomfiture of Porsche in the 1960s as they prepared to launch their new [[Porsche 911#Article notes|901]] model. The name of the [[Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS|Ferrari 308]] was not a problem.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
==Light commercials== Between 1931 and 1933 the company produced 1,676 commercial versions of the 201, aimed at small shopkeepers and other businessmen. A wide range of body types was produced including a flatbed truck, a "bakers' van" and light vans with and without side windows behind the B-pillar.
<gallery widths=200 heights=145> Peugeot 201T Boulangère entre 1931 et 1933 moteur 1122cc charge max 750 kg vit max 60kmh puissance 23ch.JPG|During the early 1930s, panel van and light truck versions were also produced. </gallery>
==Sources== {{reflist}}
* ''Auto passion'', nbr 37, juillet 1990 * ''Rétro hebdo'', nbr 28, septembre 1997 * ''Rétroviseur'' {{ISSN|0992-5007}}, nbr 58
{{commons category|Peugeot 201}} {{Peugeot historic timeline}}
[[Category:Cars introduced in 1929]] [[Category:Peugeot vehicles|201]] [[Category:1930s cars]] [[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]]