A story of inspiration from Belgium! Almost every writer reads books by others and is inspired by them. And artists also feed on each other's work and copy the art. In this case the art is about the bodybuilder Gruau, the enthusiasm of Peugeot collector Jos and his Peugeot 505 Pickup.
By: Dirk de Jong
Jos' classic fleet includes even more Peugeots. He has a Peugeot 403 from 1958 in his collection, a Peugeot 204 Break from 1967. And also a Peugeot 404 from 1968 and two Peugeot 304. One in a coupé and one in a convertible version. And so the Peugeot 505 with a special body, the protagonist of this article.
Peugeot 505 Pickup
This is one of the six existing Peugeots in this version. The Peugeot 505 Pickup was designed by Gruau as a passenger car with the additional use of an open loading space. The workhorse was developed in the 2,5s, suitable for use in developing countries. The power source is a XNUMX L diesel with a manual gearbox.
Paris Motor Show
The Gruau body shop used the Peugeot 505 Estate as a starting point and was first shown in 1984 at the Paris Motor Show. Since it later turned out that it would not be commercially viable, it remained with the six prototypes made, which were later sold to private buyers.
Inspiration from Jos
Jos: “I've been collecting Peugeots since 1970, when my brother worked in a Peugeot garage and his 'patron' was very motorsport-minded. There were many hours in the garage hobbyistically tinkered with rally cars, driving almost every weekend. (Twice Limburg rally champion in a 404.) In 1979 with an imposing 504 saloon and later in a small Peugeot 104 ZS. I always feel a weird tension when it comes to Peugeot, and the rally fun is part of that.”
Advertisement on the French sales site ”Le bon coin”. Peugeot 505 gruau annee 1984, a vendre dans l'etat a bordeaux.
Jos immediately called the owner to reserve the car, but that was not possible. He had already had ten bids. Because he was the first to call, it was agreed that Jos would immediately get in the car and drive the 800 kilometers to Bordeaux to pick up the car and pay the requested amount. The Peugeot 505 Pickup turned out to be in poor condition, but for Jos it was a bonus to own an exclusive unique Peugeot that is rarer than a Bugatti Veyron. The promise was made to send pictures of the restoration. (Everything was done in-house, only the painting was outsourced.)
creative power
It happened to Jos, the attraction of this exclusive Peugeot 505 that can now be used after restoration for fun tour rides and participation in Peugeot meetings. The creative force for this type of Peugeot came from the Gruau bodywork company, the work of art, the exclusivity is now for Jos.
Also read:
- 100 years Citroën. The company car history. Part 2 (slot)
- Peugeot 505 from the first year of production – drive with a smile
- Peugeot 505 GRD Dangel 4×4 (1989) by Johan is a driving legend
- The Peugeot 402 Darl'Mat Roadster (1938). An undisputed showpiece for Johan.
- Peugeot 405 mi16. A car with crashes
Nice special car!
Was there a petrol engine here later?
Also with such a hood on it, which you also see at the old Caddy's.
It doesn't make him more beautiful, but even rarer 🙂
A kind of “ute” just like the Sierra P100 and the Elcamino.
And even 4 doors.
Never seen it, but I love it.
Hi ,
no , this was originally built in '84 when there were less than 2500 diesels .
the car that was sold by the museum is not original at all, it has a phase 2 front and a 2500 diesel in the front and still a phase 1 dashboard.