Peugeot’s greatest hits

01 Peugeot Type 7

The 1894 Paris–Rouen event was more of a reliability race, but in 1895 the 3.7bhp Type 7 made history by winning the first ever timed car race, with Frenchman Paul Koechlin driving the 732 miles from Paris to Bordeaux and back again... in 59 hours and 48 minutes.

04 Peugeot 306 Rallye

After the brilliant 205 and 106 Rallyes, Peugeot took its 306 GTi-6 and threw out the aircon, soundproofing, electric windows, foglights, the sunroof and even the leather trim to save weight. It then sold just 500 to hot hatch obsessed Brits.

07 Peugeot 403

The 403 was the first Peugeot to exceed 1,000,000 sales. Styled by (you guessed it) Pininfarina, it was offered as a saloon, an estate with either five or seven seats, a two-door convertible, a pickup and a commercial van. Take your pick...

02 Peugeot 205 GTi

For many, the 205 GTi is the only hot hatch that matters and remains a benchmark car even today. Launched in 1984 with a 105bhp 1.6-litre four-pot, the faster 1.9 arrived in late ’86 with a heady 130bhp. Love driving? Get yourself behind the wheel of a 205 GTi.

05 Peugeot 405 Mi16

We could have included the bonkers 405 T16 here – the star of Ari Vatanen’s Climb Dance – but the 405 Mi16 is just impossibly cool. Launched as a circa 1,100kg junior saloon with a 1.9-litre 158bhp 16-valve engine, it’s a proper Q car.

08 Peugeot 905

The diesel-powered 908 HDi may have ended Audi’s dominance at Le Mans in 2009, but it’s the V10-engined 905 that’ll live long in our memories, and not just because it was created under the watch of Jean Todt. It won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 and took a 1-2-3 in ’92.

03 Peugeot 401 Eclipse

The 401 was an everyday family car built by Peugeot in 1934 and 35, with over 13,500 examples produced. Sounds fairly plain right? But check out the folding hardtop Eclipse – the first ever tin-topped convertible with a mad mechanism designed by Georges Paulin.

06 Peugeot 406 Coupe

Like the equally glorious 504 Coupe that went before it, the 406 Coupe was designed by Pininfarina and had looks to die for. With Recaro seats, Brembo brakes and a 2.9-litre V6, the rest of the bits weren’t bad either. Fiat had the chance to build it but turned Pininfarina down.

09 Peugeot 208 T16

The 208 GTi was a cracking return to form for the French firm after the disappointing 206 and 207 iterations. Even better though was the bonkers 875bhp, 875kg 208 T16, which was purpose built for Sébastien Loeb to annihilate the Pikes Peak record. He duly obliged.