The Peugeot 604 is an executive car that Peugeot produced from 1975 to 1985. Some 153,252 were sold, and the car was also assembled by Kia in South Korea between 1979 and 1981.
Peugeot 604 at a glance
| Production | 1975–1985 |
|---|---|
| Unveiled | Geneva Motor Show, March 1975 |
| Design | Pininfarina |
| Base | Peugeot 504 bulkhead, doors and part of the floorpan |
| Engine | 2.7-litre PRV V6, 144 PS |
| 604 TI (1977) | Bosch K-Jetronic injection, five-speed manual |
| 604 D turbo (1979) | 80 hp turbodiesel, four or five-speed manual |
| Price at launch | US$10,990; £4,785 in Britain |
| Total built | 153,252 |
| Assembled in | Sochaux, and by Kia in South Korea |
History of the Peugeot 604
Into the executive class
The Pininfarina-designed 604 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1975 and drew praise for a formal, handsome shape; Denmark’s Bilrevyen 1976 described it as having calm elegance. Sales began in September 1975. It was based on the principles of the 504, using that car’s bulkhead, doors and part of the floorpan, and it was usually powered by the then-new 2.7-litre PRV V6 of 144 PS, developed with Renault and Volvo. The 604 was Peugeot’s first entry into the large luxury saloon market in forty years, since the short-lived 601 of 1934. The push into the class came from the growing affluence of the French market, which Peugeot thought could carry a car more expensive than the 504.
The car
At launch it cost US$10,990, and in Britain £4,785 against £4,399 for a BMW 520, £4,361 for a Citroën CX Pallas and £3,485 for a Ford Granada 3000 GL. From the 504 it inherited a damped and supple ride comparable with a Jaguar XJ6, good handling, a spacious cabin and steering that reviewers called a model of its kind, highly accurate and one of the finest yet produced. Its unusually wide opening doors made entry and exit easy, which suited the car’s role as a limousine.
The original version was a single specification, the 604 SL. In 1977 the car reached the United States in carburetted V6 SL form with twin rectangular headlights and larger bumpers, and in September that year the quicker 604 TI arrived with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and a five-speed manual. Late in 1978, for the 1979 model year, came the 604 D turbo with an 80 hp turbodiesel, which entered production in February 1979 and could be ordered with a four or five-speed manual.
Why it failed
Despite critical success the 604 was a commercial failure. Production of 153,252 was half that of the Rover 3500 and an eighth of its stablemate the Citroën CX. Peugeot still made a profit on each car because of the tooling shared with the 504, but the model ended without an immediate successor. The 604 had arrived during the recession that followed the 1973 energy crisis, which made the market even less friendly to large-engined cars in France. Journalists blamed conservative styling, a lack of technical innovation, modest performance and a reputation for rust, and the launch of the cheaper but similarly sized 505 in 1979, together with another oil crisis, halved sales of the V6.
More than 36,000 cars were built in the first full year, 1976. By 1981 the figure was 7,000, and in 1985 only 581 were made, with sales continuing into 1986. Peugeot did offer detuned economy versions, and a turbodiesel from the 1978 Geneva show, but neither helped much. The company marketed the car as having the engineering of the Mercedes-Benz 280E, the handling of the BMW 5 Series and the elegance of the Jaguar XJ6, and not enough buyers agreed. The next executive Peugeot, the 605, arrived in 1989, with a V6 505 as an interim flagship. In Britain only 17 road-legal 604s remained in the second quarter of 2014.
Design and features
- PRV V6: 2.7 litres, 144 PS, developed with Renault and Volvo.
- 504 underpinnings: bulkhead, doors and part of the floorpan carried over.
- 604 TI: Bosch K-Jetronic injection and a five-speed manual.
- D turbo: an 80 hp turbodiesel from 1979.
- Wide doors: unusually large openings for easy access.
Peugeot 604 versions
- 604 SL (1975): the original single-specification car.
- 604 TI (1977): injected engine and five-speed gearbox.
- 604 D turbo (1979): turbodiesel with four or five-speed manual.
- US version (1977): carburetted V6 with twin rectangular headlights.
The 604 followed the Peugeot 504 in the range and was replaced by the 605, with the 601 its only earlier luxury ancestor. More in the Peugeot collection.
Video: Peugeot 604 V6 – driving scenes up to 180 km/h
Video by on YouTube.
Sources
- Peugeot 604, English Wikipedia: launch, design, engines, sales failure, production
