The Peugeot 405 is a large family car released by the French automaker Peugeot
in July 1987, and which continues to be manufactured under licence outside
France. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1988 by the largest number of
votes in the history of the contest. About 2.5 million vehicles have been
sold worldwide, both in LHD & RHD, as a sedan and station wagon.
Its appearance is similar to the Alfa Romeo 164, launched the same year and
also styled by Pininfarina. It used TU/XU petrol and XUD diesel engines.
The 405 was the last Peugeot vehicle sold in the United States, on sale
between 1988 and 1991, including the Mi16.
Manufacturing The 405 has been manufactured in a
number of world-wide locations. Designed in France, it has been manufactured in:
Europe: from 1987 to 1997 at Sochaux and Ryton.
Zimbabwe: until 2002, by Quest. Egypt: Wagih Abaza produced the 405.
Iran: produced by Iran Khodro since mid-1990.
Chile: Produced by Franco-Chilena in Los Andes, including STI Phase II model.
Argentina: Several saloon models, including diesels were built in the
Villa Bosch Peugeot facility from 1992 to 1999. In this country the 405 has
been an extremely popular car, with total sales of over 500,000 units.
Poland: Around 4000 were assembled in FSC Lublin between 1993 and 1995.
Taiwan: Produced by Yu-Tien Motors from 1989-1995.
Models The 405 has been available in LHD, and
RHD versions, as a saloon and estate, in front-wheel, and four-wheel drive. No
coupé was ever offered to the public, unlike the 504 and later 406, as only
two examples of the purpose-built 405 Turbo-16 were made. The 405 was
available as a 4-door only. Four-cylinder petrol engines included
65, 92, 110, 125, and 160 hp units. A 1.8-litre diesel engine, with or without
a turbo) was added to the range during 1988, as was the five-door estate.
The 405 range included three petrol engines and two diesel engines, all
four-cylinder with no 6-cylinder option, in a variety of states of tune and
specification. The range was tailored to suit different export markets. The
1.6-litre saloon featured a low drag co-efficient of Cd=0.29, with other
models varying up to Cd=0.33. The 1.4-litre engine was fitted with a
four-speed manual gearbox. It produced 70 hp at 5600 rpm. The 1.6-litre engine
was fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox and produced 92 hp at 6000 rpm.
The 1.9-litre engine was available with a five speed manual gearbox, with an
option of an automatic in the lower powered version.
The 8-valve version of the engine was available in two levels of tune; 110 hp
or 125 hp. A 16-valve version was available with the Mi16 model and this
produced 160 hp at 6500 rpm and could reach a top speed of 220 km/h.
In 1993, the T16 homologation special was introduced with a 2.0-litre 16-valve
turbocharged XU10J4TE engine with water-cooled chargecooler, constant
four-wheel drive with 53/47% power distribution and self-regulating
hydraulic rear axle. The T16 produced 200 hp at 1.1 bar 220 hp at 1.3 bar for
45 seconds. 1061 examples were built, 60 of them for the French Police.
The diesel options included a 1.9-litre producing 70 bhp at 4600 rpm or a
turbocharged 1.8-litre producing 90 bhp = British models=
1988–1992 range GE - 1.6 L 8-valve, basic model
GL/GR - 1.6L 8-valve, 1.9L 8-valve GLD/GRD - 1.9L 8-valve diesel
GLDtGTDt 1.8L 8-valve turbo diesel GRiGTX - 1.9 L 125 bhp 8-valve fuel
injected, based on the same engine as the 205 GTI 1.9.
Mi16 - 1.9L 16-valve fuel injected all alloy engine, with 160 bhp. The engine
of the Mi16 was later used by Peugeot as the basis for the engine in the 206 WRC,
winning two championships. Mi16x4 - Another version with the 1.9L
16-valve Mi16 engine, albeit with a slightly higher engine rpm limit than
the 2wd model - although no extra power - but featuring permanent 4 wheel drive,
and a self-levelling hydroelastic rear suspension system.
1992–1994 range Style - 1.4 L 8-valve, 1.6L 8-valve, 1.9
L 8-valve diesel GL/GLdt - 1.4 L 8-valve, 1.6L 8-valve,
1.8L 8-valve, 1.9 L 8-valve diesel, 1.9 L 8-valve turbo diesel
GR/GRdt - 1.6 L 8-valve, 1.8L 8-valve, 2.0L 8-valve, 1.9 L 8-valve diesel, 1.9
L 8-valve turbo diesel SRi/SRdt - 2.0 L 8-valve, 1.9 L 8-valve
inter-cooled turbo diesel, with rear spoiler and sports styling
STi/STdt - 2.0 L 8-valve, luxury model, 1.9 L 8-valve turbo diesel
Hunter - 1.9 L 8-valve turbo diesel, Special edition
Mi16 - 2.0 L 16-valve, 155 bhp Mi16 Le Mans - 2.0 L 16-valve, Special
edition Mi16, came with special edition red paint, alcantara seats and alloys.
1,000 produced 1994–1996 range
Style - 1.6L 8-valve, 1.9 L 8-valve diesel, 1.9 L 8-valve turbo diesel
Quasar - 1.8L 8-valve, 1.9 L 8-valve diesel, 1.9L 8-valve turbo diesel
GLX - 1.6L 8-valve, 1.8L 8-valve, 1.9 8-valve diesel, 1.9 8-valve turbo diesel
GTX - 2.0L 8-valve, 1.9 8-valve diesel, 1.9 8-valve turbo diesel
Executive - 2.0L 8-valve, 1.9 8-valve turbo diesel
Caddywagon 1996–1997 range
Style - 1.8L 8-valve, 1.9L 8-valve diesel, 1.9L 8-valve turbo diesel
LX - 1.8L 8-valve, 1.9L 8-valve diesel, 1.9L 8-valve turbo diesel
GLX - 2.0L 8-valve, 1.9L 8-valve turbo diesel
Executive - 2.0L 8-valve, 1.9L 8-valve turbo diesel
= North American models= Three versions of the 405 saloon were
sold in North America from the end of 1988; the 1.9) DL and S, and the Mi16).
The DL and S were available in estate form called Sportswagen.
= Iranian models= Iran Khodro, the leading Iranian car
manufacter produces the following models of Peugeot 405:
Peugeot 405 GL/GLX with 2.0L 8-valve engine, this model's production stopped
in 2002. Peugeot 405 GLX with 1.8L 8-valve engine
and modified options. Peugeot 405 SLX with 1.6L 16-valve PSA
TU5 engine, New designed dashboard, 2 airbags.
Peugeot Pars: A modern facelift of the Peugeot 405 with 1.8L 8-valve engine,
airbags and additional options. Peugeot Pars LX with 1.6L 16-valve PSA
TU5 engine, airbags and additional options.
Peugeot Pars ELX with 1.9L 8-valve engine, airbags and additional options.
Peugeot RD and Peugeot ROA: Cheaper models with the 405 body and 1.6L
8-valve Peykan engine. The production of these models has stopped in 2011.
Motorsport The motorsport version of the 405, the
rallying 405 Turbo 16 GR, was very different from the road-going 405. It
was built in a coupe body style in mid-engine configuration, had constant
four wheel drive with electronically adjustable center differential like the
205 T16, as it was based on the same technology. At least four were produced,
competing in hill climbs and the Paris-Dakar rally. Today, three are in
the official Peugeot museum, and the other is in a private collection.
1988: Finnish driver Ari Vatanen set a new record in the Pikes Peak
International Hillclimb. Kankkunen and Piironen win the Paris-Dakar Rally in
the 405 T16 GR. 1989: Victory in the Paris-Dakar rally
by the Vatanen-Ickx team in a 405 T16 GR.
1990: Victory in the Paris-Dakar rally by the Vatanen-Berglund team in a 405
T16 GR. Racing 405s much closer in specification
to the road-going models were campaigned for several years in European touring
car racing during the early to mid 1990s, most notably in the British
Touring Car Championship and the French Supertourisme Championship. In Britain,
the 405 did not achieve much success, but the car won the French series in
both 1994 & 1995, in the hands of Laurent Aïello.
Gallery Sales and production
Notes www.scai.industry.gov.iq/index.php
External links Climb Dance short film at Google Video
Climb Dance short film in higher quality, 61MB MPEG file
A British TV ad featuring the song Take My Breath Away