Peugeot 402 “Eclipse” from Malaga Museum. Made in France in 1937, V4, 63 hp, 2100 cc.

This car’s name from its convertible roof system, invented by a dentist. This system was recovered and used in modern 60 years later. Our car was buried during the war; it has been one of the most difficult vehicles in the collection to restore.

The Peugeot 402 is a large family car produced in Sochaux, France from 1935 to 1942 by Peugeot. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1935, replacing the Peugeot 401.

The Peugeot 403, introduced approximately thirteen years after the demise of the 402, can be seen as the older car’s natural heir. (Immediately after World War II the market demanded smaller cars: Peugeot acknowledged this by concentrating during the late 1940s and early 1950s on their 202 and 203 models.)

The car was launched with a four-cylinder water-cooled engine of 1991 cc with poppet valves. With its claimed 55 hp (41 kW) the standard bodied car could achieve a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) at 4,000 rpm. In 1938 the capacity was raised to 2142 cc with the introduction of the Peugeot 402B, stated output now being 60 horsepower (45 kilowatts). Given the wide range of body lengths and styles offered, there was and is correspondingly wide range of different performance figures quoted for the standard-engined 402.

Other engine versions existed, with a claimed output of 70 bhp (52 kW) for a Darl’mat bodied performance coupe version.

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