I was delving into the further reaches of the Curbside Classic Cohort looking for something else when I happened upon these 2015 photos by T-Minor. This Austrian Peugeot 504 would have stood out for its color alone, but there’s a surprise behind this not wholly unfamiliar face …
Yes, it’s a pickup truck! Introduced in fall 1979, the 504 Pick-Up was sort of the successor to the pickup version of the Peugeot 404 (although that remained in production in some places until the late 1980s). This model had different names in different markets over the years, but “Pick-Up” seems to be the only one that’s really stuck, which I’m sure is a great vexation to l’Académie française, an organization founded by Cardinal Richelieu (the antagonist of The Three Musketeers) that continues to issue prescriptivist proclamations intended to protect the integrity of the French language from the specter of anglicization.
Although the front end of the 504 Pick-Up looks like the Pininfarina-styled 504 sedan, the Pick-Up was a good deal bigger: 202.6 inches overall and 67.3 inches wide on a 118-inch wheelbase, with curb weights ranging from about 2,600 to 3,000 lb, depending on engine and equipment. Front suspension was still by MacPherson struts, but the Pick-Up had a solid axle on semi-elliptical springs rather than the 504 sedan’s independent rear suspension, and brakes were initially drums all around. Front discs were added by late 1981.
This “Bleu Ciel” truck is a UK-spec 1989 504 GL — note the rear leaf springs / Anglia Car Auctions
Standard engines were the four-cylinder XC7 petrol engine, making 62 PS from 1,618 cc, or the XD88 diesel, with 49 PS from 1,948 cc. (Some markets got the bigger 2,112 cc XD90 diesel, with 63 PS.) A four-speed gearbox was standard, although a five-speed became available later, as did bigger 1,796 cc XM7 petrol and 2,304 cc XD2 diesel engines.
This 1989 504 has the 2,304 cc XD2 diesel four, with 70 PS / Anglia Car Auctions
Even the Peugeot504.info website’s admirably comprehensive selection of 504 articles revealed few actual road tests of the Pick-Up, but Peugeot claimed a top speed of 71 mph for the 1,948 cc diesel, 81 mph for the 1.6-liter petrol engine, and a racy 87 mph for the 1.8-liter petrol version. A 1985 Bestelauto comparison with the Volkswagen Caddy and Hyundai Pick-Up found that the 1,618 cc petrol Pug — the biggest and heaviest of the three test vehicles — could manage 0 to 80 km/h (0 to 50 mph) in 15.2 seconds; reaching 60 mph took well over 20 seconds. A 1.8-liter/five-speed Pick-Up, with 80 PS, was presumably a bit sprightlier.
This RHD 504 GL has a slightly fancier interior with cloth upholstery / Anglia Car Auctions
The 504 Pick-Up’s real claim to fame was not speed, but hauling capacity, which was legendary. With either of the early engines, the Pick-Up was rated to carry a maximum payload of 2,245 lb including driver, over 85 percent of its own weight, while ALSO towing a trailer of up to 3,086 lb. The 1.8-liter gas and 2.3-liter diesel versions had an even higher payload rating of up to 2,810 lb including driver, and they were still rated to haul a 3,086 lb trailer to boot.
To take advantage of this payload capacity, the Pick-Up was also offered as a chassis-cab that could be paired with an array of different boxes or beds. Peugeot offered a jacked-up 4×4 version called Dangel, and there was a bizarre Group B rally version, which won the 1984 African Rally Championship.
I have no idea what year the green truck might be: The 504 Pick-Up remained on sale in European markets through October 1996, and even longer overseas: It was built in China, Argentina (through 1998), Kenya (through 2001), and Nigeria (through 2005). The last production total anyone agrees on is 370,996 trucks through the end of 2000, although since more were built after that, the eventual tally was probably more like 375,000.
The 504 Pick-Up is one of an assortment of vehicles that are immediately familiar and even commonplace almost everywhere but the U.S., the sort of rugged, hardworking truck that’s used hard, patched, and used some more until it finally succumbs to corrosion or metal fatigue. It’s a far cry from the handsome Peugeot 504 coupe, and a world away — in more ways than one — from the gigantic but pampered pickups and SUVs that litter American roads today.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1976 Peugeot 504 – One Continent’s French Mercedes and COTY Is Another Continent’s Most Rugged Vehicle Is Another Continent’s POS (by Paul N)
Peugeot Fest Crème de la Crème: 504 Coupe – The Peak Peugeot Experience (by Paul N)
Curbside Classic: 1976 Peugeot 504 L – Doing Us A Solid (by Tatra87)
Vintage Reviews: 1970 and 1971 Peugeot 504 – Dialing The Right Number For New Orleans (by GN)
Vintage R&T Comparison: Four European Family Sedans – 1972 Peugeot 504, Audi 100LS, Saab 99E, Volvo 144E (by Paul N)
R&T Vintage Review: 1977 Peugeot 504 Diesel Automatic – Noisy, Slow, But Not Lacking in Gallic Charms (by Paul N)
CC Capsule: Peugeot 504 Pick-Up – Bound For Africa? (by Paul N)
Cohort Sighting: Peugeot 504 4×4 By Dangel (And Dangel 4×4 Pickup Camper) (by Paul N)
For many, the best Peugeot ever.
For others, it’s simply the best french car ever.
To find european cars as well-built as the 504, we have to go to Mercedes or the Volvo 2-series.
What a treat for this morning. 504s, particularly the truck version captivates my imagination like not much else. I even have a usage in mind. Loading motorcycles into a sky high modern F150 is the opposite of fun. Something lower would be an immense improvement. I idly look at Kijiji for rancheros and El Caminos even. But they would in no way be as cool as a 504 truck.
Fall 1979! 1980 model year! Really, Peugeot!?
At that point they should’ve either skipped a generation and gone straight to a 505 pickup – yes, six months BEFORE the sedan, for a change! – or just developed a pickup cab from scratch rather than tie the truck to the aging, decade-old 504 sedan whose successor was already set to go.
After Gas Crunch # 2 we bought a 504 Diesel wagon, glacially slow but one of our favorite cars ever, and boy could it haul a load out back!