An unusual offering from Meccano
Producing two versions of the same basic automobile was not something that Dinky Toys normally did, but in the 1950’s, the French Meccano factory in Bobigny did just that. Part of the fabled 24 series of motorcars, the 24B Peugeot 403 Berline was introduced in June of 1956: the sixth new model to be released up to that point that year, followed by the 24F Peugeot 403 Familiale wagon in 1958.
The 403 Berline sedan was a very nicely done model of the real car that incorporated a feature not seen prior to 1956 on Dinky Toys: the appearance of a separate vent window, with a realistic thin vertical piece. This model of an early 403 also did not show the later front indicator lights, as the real car was first built with semaphore signals.
This model was first issued in black, followed by blue, then light grey, and yellow. Like other French produced Dinky automobiles in the mid-1950’s, this always came with white tires.
There were few changes made along the way, but the early versions did not have the towing eye at the rear of the baseplate, which was added later. Another change was adding clear plastic windows in 1960. Like all French made Dinky Toys, this one was also re-numbered in 1959, to 521. It was discontinued in 1961.
The 24F Peugeot 403 Familiale was introduced by the French Meccano company in 1958, but along with several other new models, it was relegated to the back page of that catalog, and shown in a color never used, black.
As usual the French Dinky Toys factory did a masterful job of very faithfully creating an accurate model, and since this was issued a couple of years later then the Berline sedan, it showed the new front indicator lights. As opposed to the Berline, this was always furnished with black tires, and was never issued with plastic windows.
The polished wheels were originally convex, then later changed to the concave design. Colors were limited to two choices, a lavender blue or a later grey-blue. (A very rare, limited production all red version was issued for members of the French Dinky Toys Club.) Like the other French models, this was also re-numbered in 1959 to 525. There were no changes made during its run, which ended with it being discontinued in 1962.
The Peugeot 403 — a brief history
The Peugeot 403 made its debut in April, 1955 at a Paris auto show, and was offered for sale shortly after. It was styled by Pininfarina, and was designed with several interesting features: it came standard with a sunroof, the rear doors opened a full 90 degrees, and the rear door windows also fully retracted. The front seats were designed to fully recline, level with the rear seats.
The engine was an enlarged version used in the previous 203, and was a 4 cylinder displacing 1.5 liters, developing 65 hp. A short time later a diesel engine was offered as an option, one of the first French cars to do so. A four speed all synchromesh transmission was standard, with an optional automatic clutch offered later. There were three basic body styles offered: the Berline or sedan, the Familiale or station wagon, and a 2 door Cabriolet.
The Familiale had a 10” longer wheelbase and had a third row seat installed. The Cabriolet was intended to be a more luxurious, sporty vehicle, and featured an all-leather interior. Its sales price was much higher than the standard 403, so it was discontinued in 1961, and is now quite rare. Many people will remember the American TV series Columbo, where Peter Falk drove one of these, albeit a pretty shabby one. The 403 was produced until 1966, when it was superseded by the new Peugeot 404 model. Counting all models, including some small truck and van versions, a total of 1,214,121 were produced – the first Peugeot to exceed the million mark!