THE PEUGEOT 604 – A CELEBRATION

We recently posted a brochure picture of the 604 on our Facebook page, and the response truly amazed us! So many remembered the flagship Peugeot of the late 1970s and early 1980s that we just had to write a special blog. When Car magazine evaluated the 604 opposite the intriguing choices of the BMW 528 and the XJ6 3.4 S2 they concluded, “The Jaguar is still a brilliant car, but in some respects Peugeot have managed to better it. And that takes some doing”. Decades later, Martin Buckley wrote in Classic & Sports Car that the 604 offered “a level of sophistication – in terms of civilisation and comfort – that was beyond even the expectations of this class of car”.

The origins of the 604 date from the late 1960s, with Peugeot building the first prototypes in 1971. The company’s management at Avenue de la Grande Armée believed they needed a model a size larger than the 504 to compete in the USA, preferably one with a V8 engine. However, the 1973 Fuel Crisis quelled such an idea, and instead, the 604 would be powered by a 2.7-litre V6 plant co-developed with Renault and Volvo.

The PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) unit would also feature in the 30TS and 264. The 604 went on show at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1975, but the display car was still a prototype with an apparently top secret engine bay. The correspondent from The Observer noted:

Peugeot’s big 604 saloon took everyone by surprise. Including, it seems, Peugeot because there was no press material and no encouragement to study the car too closely. One journalist who managed to get the bonnet open was sharply reprimanded.

Full production commenced in September, and many visitors to the Peugeot stand at the Paris Motor Show marvelled at its imposing presence. The 604’s platform may have been derived from the 504, but it bore no resemblance to its smaller stablemate. In addition, it was the first RWD French saloon aimed at the Grande Bourgeoisie since the demise of the Simca Vedette in 1961.

Across the Channel, the 604 had a somewhat different image to the Ford Granada Ghia and the Rover 3500 SD1; an elegant, formal-looking Pininfarina-styled boulevard cruiser. As we discussed in the recent 304 blog, many Britons then regarded Peugeot as a niche marque, and at £4,785, a 604 was unlikely to become a common sight. To put such figures in context, a Triumph 2500S cost £3,735 in 1976.

But Bill Boddy of Motor Sport believed ‘there is space, pace and a great deal of refinement about the 604’. He also raved about ‘the splendid Peugeot ride, derived from effective trailing-arm i.r.s. and Peugeot’s own precision damping’. Autocar of the 5^th June 1976 evaluated the 604 opposite the Renault 30TS and Volvo 264, and their writer Jeffrey Daniels opted for the Peugeot:

It has excellent power steering, and beautifully balanced handling; but most of all it is always relaxed, seemingly always well within its limits, serene and comfortable, the sort of car one could drive all day without being tired at the end.

Such a combination of virtues should have also appealed to the discerning US motorist, but the 604 did not enjoy great success across the Atlantic; one problem was it competed in the lower end of the Cadillac market. Meanwhile, too many French owners complained about the V6 engine’s lack of flexibility at low revs and poor economy. The 1977 debut of the Ti with its Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection seemed a response to these issues. When the chaps of Car tested the latest 604 alongside the Rover 2600 and the Lancia Gamma Berlina, they stated, “For us the Peugeot wins, flaws and all”. Furthermore, the group represented “three of the very best cars currently available”.

One high-profile user of the 604 was the French government, who replaced the Citroën DS with the big Peugeot. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the President of France from 1974 to 1981, favoured the 604. Three 604SLs were assigned to the Elysée Palace’s fleet, one driven by the President himself, and the fleet also included a limousine created by Heuliez. The coachbuilder unveiled their exclusive version of the 604 at the 1978 Paris Motor Show.

Limousine production ran from 1980 to 1984, and the well-heeled owner could specify five, six, seven or eight seats, a division, leather upholstery, tables, curtains and even a minibar. Heuliez forecast annual sales of 300, but the reality was 124 converted 604s - do any exist in the UK? The Chapron-bodied 604 Landaulette was even more elaborate, but only two left their works in 1978 – one for Freddy Heineken and the other for the President of Niger. Another coachbuilder Pichon-Parat created a rather appealing 604 Estate, but it sadly never became a part of the official line-up.

In 1979 the 604TD was cited as the first production turbo-diesel car sold in Europe. Autocar thought it “a very acceptable diesel”, and Motor regarded the latest Peugeot as “one of the best diesels yet”. That year a South Korean version made its bow as the ‘Kia-Peugeot 604’, with 381 examples built under licence until 1981 competing with the Hyundai version of the Ford Granada. Back in France, 1981 also saw the launch of the STi but the 604 was now showing its age. When Car tested it opposite the Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X Mk. II and the Volvo 760 GLE in 1983, they concluded while the 604 was “still arguably the best riding car on sale today”, the interior was dated. In addition, “it suffers some handicap in performance and economy”.

The 2.8-litre GTi marked the big Peugeot’s swansong; by now, the 505 range encroached on its sale territory. 604 production ceased in November 1985 after 153,252 units, but sales continued until June 1986. Peugeot would not introduce the belated 605 replacement until 1989.

The 604 may have never achieved Peugeot’s hoped-for sales figures, but it remains one of its era’s most intriguing large European cars. As the British sales copy once claimed, “The 604 sets the measure of comfort, efficiency and style to which many aspire but few achieve”. And, for once, this was not a copywriter’s hyperbole.