Present in the Peugeot catalog from 1977 to 1990, the 305 was only offered in sedan and station wagon. However, it is not the multiple variants studied: 5-door, hatchback coupe or still hunting, which have been missed. Back on the 305 remained in the shadow of design studios.
Marketed from 1977 to 1990, the Peugeot 305 quite naturally took over from the 304. Officially, its range offered a saloon whose traditional three-box silhouette would be the last of its kind. Its replacement, the Peugeot 309, will indeed adopt a tailgate with a glass bubble.
The car is also presented as a station wagon with paneled sides for craftsmen or glazed for individuals. Nothing more ! Difficult to do more succinctly. The lion brand, however, had many more variants in its boxes. The 305 should have been much more ambitious, but its fate was quite different. This is an opportunity to come back to the silhouettes which, for various reasons, never made it to industrialization.
TO READ. The Peugeot 300 series saga: from the 304 to the 309 [épisode 2/4]
From project J to project D41
The history of the 305 first stems from the J project, which began in the mid-1970s, when Peugeot is considering a vehicle halfway between the 304 and the 404 with the objective of succeeding both. This program included hatchbacks and notchback sedans, as well as a coupé, with the aim of covering a spectrum at least as broad as that of the vehicles being replaced. In 1973, Francis Rougé became chairman of the Peugeot management board. Faced with the first oil shock, he had no choice but to stop this ambitious project, which had now become too complicated and above all too expensive.
For the one that will become the Peugeot 305, a turn has been taken. Place then in the D40 project, which significantly reduces the sail area. In fact, it is no longer anything more than a 304 dressed up as a saloon or station wagon by the style teams led by Gérard Welter. Pininfarina remains a stranger to the matter, there is no parallel study. However, the design does not start completely from scratch. The men of the art manage to recycle some themes born with the J project, like the engine cover offering a line plunging on the grille. By taking up the technical basis of the 304, the future 305 remains quite small. In any case, it is much more compact than its rival the Renault 18. This positioning is all in all logical in the range, since the 305 should not overshadow the Peugeot 504 which, even at the end of its life, always sells well. You have to respect the hierarchy!
An AMC Pacer-style Peugeot 305?
In 1976, Peugeot regained some confidence. And, while the 305 is in the industrialization phase, the launch being scheduled for the following year, the brand still believes in the development of a real range. Many studies will be pushed until 1980. But finally none of the projects will succeed. Among them is the D41 fastback program, which is a five-door sedan with a hatchback. The concept is very practical, but it would have made the 305 much too close to Simca 1308. A cousin who becomes quite cumbersome for Peugeot, which in 1978 became the owner of Chrysler France. Internal competition is unthinkable. The three-door version characterized by two side windows and a specific stern also goes by the wayside. Among the avenues of reflection, there is also an astonishing silhouette in the shape of a shooting wagon which, from certain angles, evokes a little the atypical American AMC Pacer. Let’s not forget that, in the 1970s, popular coupes were in vogue. Renault had its R15/R17 duo, Volkswagen was relying heavily on the Scirocco, and Peugeot also wanted its share of the cake.
Peugeot 305: a very upset destiny
Finally, the Peugeot 305 has never ceased to deal with the torments of its time. The manufacturer will use it in the early 1980s through Vera prototypes to promote ecology and low fuel consumption using a diesel engine and a lighter bodywork with materials composite. In short, the tool adapted to this period of gaspi hunting. Among other missed appointments, the Peugeot 305 could also have become a rally beast. A prototype with V6 engine of propulsion architecture had been developed, but another much more charismatic lioness, the 205, decided otherwise. But this is another story…
TO READ. Peugeot. The nuggets from the reserves of the Peugeot Adventure Museum
