Manufacturer Peugeot Class Large family car | Designer Pininfarina | |
 | ||
Production 1987–1997 (Europe)
1995–present (Iran/Egypt) Assembly Argentina by (Sevel) (1992–2000)
Chile, by Franco Chilena
Egypt, by Iran Khodro (2006–present)
AAV (1992–20??)
France (1987-97)
Indonesia, by Gaya (1989–1997)
Iran, by Iran Khodro (1992–present)
Malaysia, by OASB
Poland, by FSC (1993–1995)
Taiwan, by Yu-Tien (1989–1995)
United Kingdom (1987–1997)
Zimbabwe, by Quest (1987–2002) Body style 4-door saloon
5-door estate | ||
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.
Contents
Its appearance is similar to the Alfa Romeo 164, launched the same year and also styled by Pininfarina. While the 405 shares its bottom plate with the Citroën BX, it does not have that car's hydropneumatic suspension. As with the BX, the 405 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.
History
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 (not to be confused with 405 T16) were made.
The 405 was first introduced in July 1987, with Peugeot unveiling 10 versions of the 405 simultaneously. European mainland sales began shortly afterwards; despite being British-built, it was not launched onto the British market until 22 January 1988. The 405 was originally available as a four-door saloon only. Four-cylinder petrol engines ranging from 65 to 160 PS (48 to 118 kW) were available. In 1988 naturally aspirated and turbocharged diesel engines were added to the range. An Estate model was also introduced during 1988. The 500,000th 405 was produced during 1989, followed by the one millionth 405 to leave the Sochaux factory in 1990. This was also when the BE1 transmission was replaced by the BE3.
In 1991, there were updates to the dashboard, steering wheel, and soundproofing, but for 1993 the Phase 2 model arrived with a new boot (trunk) with better ingress, new rear lights and boot design and a new dashboard. 405 production had reached over 1.5 million by this time.In the autumn of 1995 the 405's replacement, the 406 was introduced and the 405 saloon discontinued. Airbag had earlier become an option on some models, and standard on the left-hand-drive Mi16 and T16.
In early 1997, the estate version of the 406 was launched, marking the end of European production of the 405 after a decade.
Manufacturing
The 405 has been manufactured in a number of world-wide locations. Designed in France, it has been manufactured in:
Models
The 405 range included three petrol engines and two diesel engines, all four-cylinders, 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 (1360 cc) engine was fitted with a four-speed manual gearbox. It produced 70 hp (52 kW) at 5600 rpm. The 1.6-litre (1580 cc) engine was fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox and produced 92 hp (69 kW) at 6000 rpm. The 1.9-litre (1905 cc) engine was available with a five speed manual gearbox, with an option of an automatic in the lower powered version.
The eight-valve version of the engine was available in two levels of tune; 110 hp (82 kW) or 125 hp (93 kW). A 16-valve version was available with the Mi16 model and this produced 160 hp (120 kW) at 6500 rpm and could reach a top speed of 220 km/h. In 1992 the range was facelifted. While the changes were deep, including a modified bottom plate and chassis structure, the design was almost indistinguishable from the pre-facelift model. The windscreens were now bonded; all of these changes increased torsional rigidity considerably while still allowing a deeper opening for the bootlid of the sedan. The taillights were also redesigned and the trim piece between them removed, all in the image of the bigger 605. The interior was also redone, with an all-new dashboard and door trim, inheriting lots of detail parts as well as the overall appearance from the 605.
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. It was never built in a right-hand-drive model. The T16 produced 200 hp (150 kW) at 1.1 bar (16 psi) (normal boost) 220 hp at 1.3 bar (19 psi) (overboost) for 45 seconds. 1061 examples were built, 60 of them for the French Police.
The diesel options included a 1.9-litre (1905 cc) producing 70 bhp (52 kW) at 4600 rpm or a turbocharged 1.8-litre (1769 cc) producing 90 bhp (67 kW)
British models
1988–1992 range
1992–1994 range
1994–1996 range
1996–1997 range (estate models only)
North American models
Three versions of the 405 saloon were sold in North America from the end of 1988; the 1.9 (110 hp (82 kW)) DL and S, and the Mi16 (150 hp (110 kW)). The DL and S were available in estate form called Sportswagen.
Iranian models
Iran Khodro also produces several models derived from the 405. The Peugeot Pars, also known as the Peugeot Persia, is a facelifted 405 with a redesigned front end including clear lamp lenses and a revised rear. The Peugeot RD is a rear wheel drive car which has a 405 body and mechanical parts from the Paykan. Since 2006, it has been sold in certain Middle Eastern markets as the Peugeot ROA.
The Samand, which was designed to be a "national car" for Iran, is also based on the 405 platform. It replaced the long-running Paykan which was itself based on the Hillman Hunter, an ancestor (in corporate ownership and model positioning terms) of the 405, having been produced by the Rootes Group and Chrysler UK from 1963 until 1979 - the year that Peugeot purchased Chrysler's European operations.
Iran Khodro, the leading Iranian car manufacter produces the following models of Peugeot 405:
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 coupé 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.
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.