Peugeot 308

The Peugeot family first began tinkering with bicycles and cars in the late 1880s, and in 1895 was the first marque to fit a car with pneumatic tyres rather than solid rubber. The 1928 201 became the brand’s first model featuring a zero in the name, and first of a series that would be particularly memorable as the 205 of the ’80s – especially the GTi hot-hatch legend – even if it was outsold by its 206 replacement. The 4-series would also be popular, with the 1955 403 starting a long partnership with Italian design house Pininfarina and the 404 winning the East African Safari Rally multiple times in the ’60s to prove itself a reliability champion. The 504 is also remembered as one of Peugeot’s most distinctive models, while the 1979 604 marked the company’s beginning as a leader in turbo diesel engines. It took control of arch-rival Citroen in the mid-’70s to form a European auto giant in the form of PSA.