Cars
Cosmetic surgery? Far more than just that
This article discusses the Peugeot 402 N4X, a car designed by engineer Jean Andreau in 1935 to compete with Citroën Traction. The car was focused on improving efficiency in terms of performance and fuel consumption, without modifying the original engine.
The 402 N4X, conceived and developed by the famous engineer Jean Andreau in 1935, can still be seen at the Peugeot Museum in Sochaux. The other five units produced were all destroyed during the war, and the project as a whole failed mainly as a result of that terrible trauma, which began at the end of 1939. Peugeot, keen for its 402 to be able to match the technically (although certainly not stylistically) innovative Citroën Traction, had recruited mechanical engineering and aerodynamics specialist Andreau precisely because of his aeronautical background and the experiments he had done as director of the Crasson Aerodynamic Research Center.
The finished vehicle was every bit as elegant as it was refined: Andreau retained the structure and shape of the 402, but focused on every detail, small or large, that might make it more efficient in terms of performance and consumption, without modifying the original engine. It is even said that the deal he struck with Peugeot was that he would be paid on the basis of the improvements actually shown by the new version.
