Period perfect Parisienne Pug pickup sells for pretty penny

One of only six ever built, the rare Peugeot offers a time-capsule glimpse into a mid-80s solution to a problem that didn’t actually exist – with this example sold at auction.

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It’s a strong pitch. Take the resolved comfort and reliability of the Peugeot 505 ‘Familiale’ estate, chop off some metal, and add the functional capability of a load-carrying ute. Throw in the promise of a commercial vehicle tax concession and you’ve got a gourmet French recipie ready for a hungry market.

At least that’s what French engineering firm Gruau (who still manufacture emergency serivce and other custom-body commercial vehicles) thought when they sought to create a ‘working’ version of the 505, which was originally shown at the 1984 Paris Motorshow as the 1985 Peugeot 505 Pick-Up Double Cabine Gruau.

The small cargo bay is about 1400mm square and has a load rating of 675kg.

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Offered with either a tonneau or hard canopy, the Peugeot was proposed with five seats, four doors and an 18.6 per cent VAT (sales tax) exemption. However only the first two ended up being true (the converted station wagon did not meet homologation requirements), and with no incentive, there were no buyers.

Only six were ever made, and were registered as wagons before being sold.

This example was extensively restored before being sold at the Aguttes auction earlier this month for €27,300 (A$44,000). As part of the refresh the car (serial number 011) received a retrimmed interior, a restored 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, quad headlamps and some great blue and red decals to match the car originally displayed at the Paris show.

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The predecessor to the 505, the Peugeot 504, was offered as a factory single-cab pickup and the French brand has recently launched a more modern double-cab ute, the Landtrek, in some African and South American markets.

As a platform, the 505 was in production from 1979 through to 1997 (licensed in China). Between 1981 and 1983 the 505 was assembled for the Australian market in Enfield, New South Wales, and while a two-door coupe and cabriolet were built as concepts, the classic Peugeot was only officially sold as a sedan (1,116,868) or wagon (234,386), making the Gruau pickup even more rare and special.

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