Peugeot-402 Eclipse Version.

The Streamline style was becoming increasingly fashionable in the early 1930s. It was a style characterised by horizontal shapes with rounded ends that suggested movement, modernity, speed and aerodynamics.

Peugeot decided to take a risk and designed a 402 in a streamlined style. The car integrated for the first time in history the headlights behind the grille, and had a rounded and aerodynamic design, and that marked an epoch.

The innovative Peugeot-402 Eclipse was the brainchild of a dentist, Georges Paulin. He was a genius amateur designer who patented the retractable hardtop system in 1932 and later fought with the French resistance in World War-II and is officially considered a national hero. The Peugeot-402 could be offered in different body styles and body styles, and was very well received.

The Peugeot-402 Eclipse marked the beginning of mass production of the first ever hardtop convertible.

The car was powered by 55-70hp 4-cylinder petrol engine. Its top speed was about 125km/h.

Some 75068 Peugeot-402 were made in Saloon/Coupé/Cabriolet body styles. Of which only 580 were Eclipses with a convertible rooftop.

The Second World War was the premature end of the Peugeot-402 and its revolutionary design ideas. After the war, and when Peugeot was again in a position to manufacture cars, the fashions and state of the art technology had evolved, the 402 had become obsolete.