Participant in the Beijing – Paris race in 1997.

Peugeot introduced the 404 in May 1960, intended as a replacement for the 403 Design firm Pininfarina styled the body, which was at once modern and elegant. Under that body was the well-known technology, improved in detail. The press was full of compliments.

The previous owner chose this 404 after much deliberation. He acquired the car first-hand in order to take part in the 1997 race from Beijing to Paris. The journey covered some 16,000 km in 43 days. That makes for an average daily stretch of 470 km in the roughest sections, all the way up to 5200 km in others! The Peugeot underwent an extensive technical overhaul beforehand. The equipment was supplemented with additional headlights, skid plate, bucket seats, mud flaps and the start number. The car still has all this extra equipment. The rest was original! Turns out the Peugeot was a great choice: of 93 starters, the owner ended up in 15th place – and was even in 1st place in some stretches! The trip went off without a technical glitch, although a collision with a cow in Nepal required a new fender. Today, the car remains in unrestored condition; after a long rest, it was carefully overhauled three years ago. Since then, the owner has taken part in other, smaller events, doing just as well as he did during that previous race, the biggest journey of his life.

VIN: 4307757, mileage: 79,868 km (original), displacement: 1.618 cc/R4, gearbox: 4-speed, colour: blue/red (fabric), power: 68 HP, papers: Duplicate of Austrian individual permit