This rare model is presented on a wooden display stand

The Peugeot 403 is a car of the segment D which was produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot between 1955 and 1966.

The 403 made its debut in the saloon body style on April 20, 1955 at the Palais du Trocadero in Paris . The 403 attracted attention for its elegant line, very fashionable at the time due to the example of the great American cars. This same strategy had followed cars like the Simca Aronde , the Fiat 1400 and the range pontoons of Mercedes .

It was available in body sedan four – door convertible two – door family (introduced in 1958) and five – door pickup with two doors. Its engine had 1.5 liters, 1.3 liters in its fiscal 7CV version (introduced in 1960 when the 203 was discontinued) and 1.8 in the diesel version (introduced in 1958).

It became famous for being the vehicle of Lieutenant Colombo, from the TV series that bore his name . The main feature of the Colombo Peugeot 403 was its apparently unfortunate state of repair and operation, although it was actually in good condition.

The wheelbase was lengthened by 240mm on both the family and commercial body variants . The familiar added a third row of seats and was described as 7/8 seats, while the commercial offers a more conventional five-seat seating configuration.

The trucks Peugeot ( family , van and pickup ) essentially had its own unique frame / platform , at the least from the windshield to the rear, with a distance between increased axes to accommodate three rows of seats in the direction of travel, and a remarkable rear axle / suspension that had a load capacity (in the family) of more than 544 kg (1200 lbs) without sacrificing anything of that famous French smooth handling. For more than fifty years these half-car / half-truck Peugeot made a representation of themselves that is second to none.

The Peugeot 403 was manufactured in many countries. Within Europe , it was manufactured in Belgium , Portugal and Ireland ; in Africa , South Africa and Nigeria ; in Oceania , Australia 4 and New Zealand . Local manufacturer Volkswagen in New Zealand built 1033 Peugeot 403S in less than four years, starting in March 1960; 5 in Asia plants were established in Malaysia and the Philippines , and of course also in South America inChile , Uruguay and Argentina .