Peugeot 104 (1972). The anti-Renault 5 is also 50 years old

Launched in 1972, the Peugeot 104 celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022.

The Peugeot 104 turns 50 in 2022. Never as popular as its competitor the Renault 5, the city car adorned with the lion has not been undeserved, both in its services and in its commercial performance.

Renault celebrates with great fanfare the 50^th anniversary of the R5 throughout this year 2022. It was also in 1972 that the most direct rival of the Renault 5, also French, was launched: the Peugeot 104. Not lacking in qualities, the little lioness has met with certain commercial success during her long career, yet today many have forgotten it. Its fiftieth anniversary is an opportunity to bring it back to light.

Peugeot 104 sedan — The four-door Peugeot 104 measures just 3.58m long.

Peugeot 104 against Renault 5, the duel of a decade

Upon its arrival, the 104 inaugurated a new entry-level segment for Peugeot, as well as a new nomenclature by being the brand’s first car to be part of the 100 series to which only mopeds belonged until then. The 104 is also the first Peugeot produced in Mulhouse. Much more classic than the R5 in terms of style, the 104 displays an angular design, not without character but consensual in the simplicity of its lines. Its look contrasts with the sympathetic “face” of its competitor with the diamond shape with softened angles. It is presented as “the shortest 4-door in Europe” with its 3.58 m length and its hatchback silhouette. Proportionally, its generous wheelbase of 2.42 m offers a relatively spacious interior.

Peugeot 104C — The 104 C three-door appeared shortly after the saloon.

Peugeot 104 hatchback — Unlike the saloon, the 104C is fitted with a tailgate as standard.

Unlike the R5, a 3.52 m long three-door, the 104 did not offer a tailgate in its debut, but a lidded trunk. In 1974, Peugeot launched the 104 C, as a “Coupé”, a three-door hatchback only 3.36 m long. The sedan became a five-door in 1977, enough to offer up to 700 L of cargo volume.

Peugeot 104 dashboard — Sleek and functional, the dashboard of the Peugeot 104 is modern for its time.

A sporty little pre-GTi lioness

The basic Peugeot 104 offers a power of 46 hp, enough to move this city car weighing less than 800 kg while displaying sufficiently reasonable consumption when the oil crisis broke out in 1973. But from 1974, a top-of-the-range ZS version of 66 ch is born. The 80 hp ZS Rallye with an aggressive body kit followed in 1976. In 1978, Peugeot launched its first special series: the 104 Sundgau named after a region near Sochaux. This takes the engine of the ZS and receives a specific finish. Only 1,200 units leave the factory.

Peugeot 104 Sundgau — The 104 Sundgau, Peugeot’s first limited series.

Then in 1979 came the even meaner 93 hp ZS2, limited to 1,000 units and marketed with the aim of approving the 104 for rallying in Group 2. The Frenchwoman regularly distinguished herself in competition, which helped the ZS to continue. This predecessor of the 205 GTi increased to 72 hp in 1979, then 80 hp in 1982. In a completely different genre, Peugeot presented the VLS (Véhicule Léger de Sécurité) prototype in 1979 based on the 104 for

Peugeot 104 rally — The Peugeot 104 was entered in rallies, as here in Group 2.

The sporty Peugeot 104 ZS precedes the 205 GTi.

The confidential history of the 104 convertibles

While we were not yet talking about modular platforms, the Peugeot 104 “lent” its chassis to the Citroën LN and the Talbot Samba launched respectively in 1976 and 1981. Only the Samba was officially available as a mass-produced convertible. However, the idea of an open-air 104 was sketched out in 1974 with Pininfarina’s Peugette concept, a sporty and economical roadster based on the Peugeot city car. But the bodybuilder did not get the green light from the manufacturer for marketing. A handful of fans of the 104 who were unconditional convertibles were able to turn, in 1983, to the 17 Peugeot 104 C transformed into convertibles by the Sovra company.

Peugeot 104 Peugeot — Peugette, or the Peugeot 104 Roadster according to Pininfarina.

Peugeot 104 Sovra — 17 Peugeot 104 convertibles were made by Sovra.

What is rare is not always expensive

The Peugeot 104 continued its career until 1988 and therefore remained in the catalog for some time alongside the 205 which came to replace it indirectly in 1983. It was not until 1991 that the saga of the four-wheeled Peugeot 100 resumed, with the 106 (the Peugeot 105 being a moped). In sixteen years of marketing, the 104 was produced in just over 1.6 million copiesa more than respectable volume, however, far from the 5.5 million Renault 5s sold between 1972 and 1984.

Peugeot 104 coupe — The 104 was treated to some high-end finishes.

A standard Peugeot 104 in good condition sells for less than €2,000 today in France. Count between €3,000 and €5,000 for the neatest cars. Sports and limited series versions can ask for more substantial sums; it is still necessary to find them as they have become rare. From June to December 2022, the Peugeot Adventure Museum, in Sochaux, will offer an exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the 104.