The Beginning of O

We are used to Peugeot using O in its model range but where did the story begin? As part of our 65-year celebration of CAR, we drive the first of these models, the 201 Saloon

- By Wilhelm Lutjeharms. Photos by Peete Mocke

1930 PEUGEOT 201 SALOON

• Engine: 1122 cm, four-cylinder, petrol
• Transmission: 3-speed manual
• Power: 17 kW @ 3 500 r/min
• Tyres: Dunlop 4,50-18
• Length: 3 657 mm
• Top speed: 80 km/h
• Fuel tank: 29,6 litres
• Weight of chassis: 595 kg
• Weight of car (with body): 890 kg
• Turning diameter: 10,8 metres
• Manufactured: 1929-1937
• Number made: 142 309

If you page through the owner's manual of a pre-war vehicle, it makes for interesting reading. Each generation is convinced it is cleverer than the one that came before. However, these exquisite manuals - divulging the finer details of valve and timing adjustments with intricate diagrams and sketches - would suggest otherwise. Today, a manual may actually warn against drinking the cooling fluid, for goodness' sake. This 1930 Peugeot 201 instruction book sheds some light on the heavy maintenance schedule required by these early cars. Every week or 750 km, the dynamo balancers had to be lubricated and oiled. Where fitted to the battery ignition distributor, the automatic oiler had to be replenished with a special, thick oil for the gears: Mobiloil C in summer and Mobiloil CW for the winter. The starter also had to be lubricated by means of the oilers. The fan belt had to be regularly checked, and there is a clear, concise description of how to do this.