INEXPENSIVE, ELEGANT PEUGEOT 404 CABRIOLET

WHEN we look at the Peugeot 404, and if you are old enough to remember, then most of them were used by senior civil servants or professionals.

They were big and roomy and could be used as a chauffeur-driven car.

Launched in 1960 and carried on for 15 years, this car was launched at the end of an era when cars were designed really to specifications with some bearing on costs.

It was born at a time when large multinational corporations were still being stitched together in the back alleys of the relatively new capitalist operating theatre.

Designed as a no-nonsense large family car, the 404 is not likely to win any beauty contests but it is tough as nails and won the East African Safari Rally four times in the 1960s.

Bear in mind that these long distance off-road events actually meant driving over roads that could be plagued by mudholes and ruts so deep that cars could not pass them. And yet, this large, ungainly-looking French car took it all in its stride.

The secrets to its Safari Rally success were long travel suspension and a robust, relatively slow but torquey engine that thrives on abuse.

Scenes of co-drivers hanging out back on the boot and humping the car with all their might are common sights on old rally footages as they try to get a stuck car out of a mud hole or some inexplicably large puddle of water in the middle of the road.

By the mid-1970s, when production of the 404 had stopped in France, it was continued in the Middle East where they had at least another 15 years of life.

In Malaysia, they took on second lives as taxis and were commonplace enough to become a clichÈ and featured in a local comic strip, called Din Teksi.

If you can find one in running condition, the old man that kept it is probably not going to ask you for the sky and it is likely that the car can change hands under RM15,000; although some suggest that it could be yours for as little as RM10,000.

From the bones of this lanky workhorse, Italian designer Pininfarina came up with one of the most beautiful four-seat cabriolets of all time.

Rid of the upright and utilitarian tin roof and the design inconvenience of rear doors, the flank was given a well-placed kink just behind the long single doors on each side.

This broke the monotony of the window line and helped to announce the start of a very long, sloping boot that made it look the part.

The extended bootlid and long rear overhangs were necessary features of cabriolet from that era, as they copied American ideals of automotive elegance and beauty.

The front and rear were retrimmed with new, slimmer grille that enhanced the impression of width and the rear received a sloping light cluster in place of the decidedly vertical version on the sedan.

Although it appeared that the cabriolet maintained the wheelbase of the sedan, the second row of seats were there more for the brochure rather than real practicality. All for the sake of the long, sloping boot, which made the car.

Pininfarina gave the flank of the 404 Cabrio a gentle tapering scallop that opened up towards the rear and from the three-quarter as well as profile view, this design feature helped to break the monotony of the slab sided sedan and reduce the visual thickness of the sides.

The dashboard was nearly a direct transplant from the Sedan but the cabin finishing helped to give it some sense of luxury but these were limited to leather upholstery and slightly nicer carpets.

The Pininfarina badge on the front fender did most of the selling for this car.

While the Sedan commanded modest prices, the cabriolet insisted on much thicker wallets with prices starting at around US$50,000 (RM199,400) to US$70,000. This put it on one or two rungs under the ridiculously priced Mercedes-Benz Ponton cabriolet.

I think the 404 Cabriolet has a much more elegant proportion compared to the Ponton drop top but the Mercedes wins hands down when it comes to quality of materials as well as soft-top design.

In fact, the 404 Cabriolet lives in a unique realm where it is not too expensive because it is wearing the wrong badge while still being genuinely elegant.

It is the perfect classic family cabriolet