War, captivity, friendship and love – all are woven into the story of this 1938 Peugeot 402, now offered for sale at Bilweb Auctions.
At the end of the war in 1945, Günter, a German soldier aged just 16, was captured by the Allies. He was initially sent to a prisoner-of-war camp, then to a farm outside Albertville, where he was to continue his captivity as a labourer.
The farm had a Peugeot 402, used, among other things, to deliver cheese to customers in the surrounding area – a task Günter helped with.
After his release in 1949, the young German stayed in touch with the family in Albertville, with whom he had become close friends. He returned several times, and in the mid-1980s, a barn needed clearing out.
There, of course, stood the old Peugeot. A couple of years later, Günter became its owner. Restoration followed, and in 1996 he drove it to the International Peugeot Meeting in Karlsborg, Sweden.
This is where love enters the story.
At the meeting, Günter befriended a Swedish family. Through that friendship, their children and nieces and nephews met, fell in love and married. In 2017, the couple inherited the car when the former prisoner of war passed away. In 2019, it came to Sweden and was registered here.
Enough material for a film, wouldn’t you say?
A few words about the Peugeot 402 itself: launched in 1935, it was a French interpretation of the hottest design trend of the day – Streamline Moderne. Cars, boats, trains, buildings and household appliances were all meant to have aerodynamic lines, conveying elegance, speed and absolute modernity. Sweden’s contribution was the Volvo PV36, also known as the “Carioca”.
Peugeot’s designers, however, were cooler than the rest, placing the headlights close together and behind the grille, giving the 402 its unmistakable appearance.
On 11 November, a new chapter in the 402’s eventful history begins as the auction closes at bilwebauctions.se. Valued at SEK 120,000–140,000, it is being offered alongside another of Günter’s streamlined Peugeots: a 1948 Peugeot 202 convertible, a Décapotable.
Read the vehicle descriptions by our inspector and Peugeot enthusiast Tore Thallaug, and enjoy the photographs here:
