1953 PEUGEOT 203 COUPE - Lot 237

1953 PEUGEOT 203 COUPE Chassis : French registration - Rare model - Beautiful patina - Many period accessories It was after the Second World War that Peugeot truly became a carmaker. After this tragic period in history, Peugeot quickly revived its production facilities and stepped up the pace of car assembly. At all costs, it had to make people forget the dark period that had just passed, and instill confidence in the French people. The 1952 Paris Motor Show saw the launch of the coupé, which completed the 203 range and caught the eye of the curious for its rather original styling. It left no one indifferent! The coupé is structurally derived from the cabriolet. Its originality lies in its shortened sheet-metal roof, welded to the body, compared to that of the sedan. All the coupé's elegance comes from the baroque design of the rear side window. Its high price precipitated its withdrawal from the catalog in April 1954, after a production run of 955 examples... according to some collectors, only a hundred or so were still in circulation. The coupé is now more sought-after than the cabriolet. In fact, 2,567 of the cabriolet were produced, making the coupé much rarer. The example we're presenting has quite a history. It was given to its current owner by a friend in the 1970s. Immobilized for over 20 years, it was restored by its owner in 1990. Spread over more than 10 years, the work was completed in the early 2000s. Carried out by its owner, we have no invoices for this work. Today, the car is in good overall condition, with many period accessories, and the old restoration has given it an interesting patina. 1953 PEUGEOT 203 COUPE Chassis : French registration - Rare model - Beautiful patina - Many period accessories It was after the Second World War that Peugeot really became a car manufacturer. After this tragic period in history, Peugeot quickly revived its production facilities and stepped up the pace of car assembly. At all costs, it had to make people forget the dark period that had just passed and instil confidence in the French people. The 1952 Paris Motor Show saw the launch of the coupé, which completed the 203 range and caught the eye of the curious for its rather original styling. It left no one indifferent! The coupé is structurally derived from the cabriolet. Its originality stems from its shortened sheet-metal roof, welded to the bodywork, compared with that of the saloon. All the elegance of the coupé comes from the baroque design of the rear side window. Its high price precipitated its withdrawal from the catalog in April 1954 after 955 examples had been produced... according to some collectors, only around a hundred were still in circulation. The coupé is now more sought-after than the cabriolet. The cabriolet was produced in 2567 examples, making the coupé much rarer. The example we are presenting to you has quite a history. It was given to its current owner by a friend in the 1970s. Immobilised for more than 20 years, it was restored by its owner in 1990. Spread over more than 10 years, the work was completed in the early 2000s. The work was carried out by its owner, but we have no invoices for this work. Today, the car is in generally good condition, with a number of period accessories. The old restoration has given the car an interesting patina.