Peugeot Type 156

Motor vehicle

Peugeot Type 156
Peugeot type 156
Overview
Manufacturer	Peugeot
Production	1921-1923
Body and chassis
Class	large car
Layout	FR layout

The Peugeot Type 156 was a large car announced in 1920 and produced between 1921 and 1923 by the French auto-maker Peugeot at their Sochaux plant. It was Peugeot’s first large car since before the First World War and its arrival recalled the Peugeot Type 135 which had ceased production in 1913. However, the 156 was larger and more powerful.

The six-cylinder sleeve-valve 5,954 cc engine was Peugeot’s first production sleeve-valve unit. It was positioned ahead of the driver and drove the rear wheels. A top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph) was claimed and slower than the 3L 175 torpedo sport.

The 156 featured a massive 3670 mm wheelbase, supporting an overall length of 4800 mm. Available bodies included a large “limousine” saloon/sedan, a “torpedo”, a cabriolet and a “coupé-landaulet”. The car could accommodate between four and six people, according to the body specified.

It may, in part, be a mark of the impact of war and post war depression on the French economy that whereas Peugeot had sold 376 of their Type 135 model between 1911 and 1913, only 180 Type 156s were built between 1921 and 1923. Nevertheless, one of the car’s users was the French President.

The Type 156 was also used by Peugeot themselves as a test-bed for experiments with diesel-powered cars. The significance of these activities for the company’s future was probably not widely appreciated at the time, however, and it would be nearly four decades before Peugeot would follow Mercedes-Benz in progressing to the use of diesel engines in production cars.

The 156 was Peugeot’s last series production luxury car of this size. The company produced subsequent luxury cars, but when 156 production ended in 1923, the Peugeot Type 174 introduced also in 1923, was smaller than the Type 156, and its six-cylinder engine had a capacity of “only” 3,828 cc.

Sources and further reading

Wolfgang Schmarbeck: Alle Peugeot Automobile 1890–1990. Motorbuch-Verlag. Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-613-01351-7

Peugeot road vehicle timeline, 1889–1944 — next »

Type		1890s										1900s										1910s										1920s										1930s										1940s
	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
Supermini	1	2	3 / 4			5 / 6 / 7 / 8				21 / 24 / 30 / 31				37	54	57	69 "Bébé"								B P1/ B3/P1 "Bébé"¹											161/172 "Quadrilette"				5CV			190
											26 / 27 / 28			48	56	58						126																			201									202
Small family car									14 / 15 / 25						56	58	68	VA/VC/VY¹				V2C/V2Y¹			VD/VD2¹						159	163												301				302
													33 / 36			63			99	108	118	125													173 / 177 / 181 / 183
Family car						9 / 10 / 11 / 12				16 / 17 / 19 / 32				49/50		65/67	77	78	88			127		143		153						153 B/BR					176									401		402
								18						39	43/44	61	71	81	96	106	116	126	138												175											601
Large family car										23					42	62	72	82	92	104	112/117/ 122/130/134		139		145/146/148										174
																66	76	83	93				135									156								184
Executive car																		80	103		113		141			147/150
																		85	95	105
Cabriolet / Spider																		91		101/120		133 / 111/129/131	136			144
Panel van							13			22			34/35
Minibus									20 / 29											107
¹ These cars were marketed as "Lion-Peugeots", produced by what was till 1910 a separate Peugeot company, run by cousins of Armand Peugeot, then in charge of the principal automobile business. In 1910, Armand having no sons of his own, it was agreed that the two branches of the Peugeot business be reunited.