Adentist, a coachbuilder and a car salesman make up so heterogeneous a trio that it’s hard to believe they could ever see eye to eye to come up with a brand-new car make. No less could they have succeeded 72 years ago with the Eclipse, a hardtop convertible better called coupe cabriolet. Since the 1933 Paris Automobile Show, the philosophy of car-making changed for good. The Peugeot 201 and 301 came in with a common denominator: speed. And that marked the beginning of the aerodynamic fashion. That was the time of wind radiators, side-grooved hoods and grenade-shaped headlights. Anew car had been born.

In May 1934, Peugeot produced a heavy giant: the 15-foot-long 601 model that weighed over a ton. However, this machine outfitted with a three-speed gearbox and a 12-hp engine could do 62 miles an hour. At a time when road titans roamed everywhere, it extravagant luxury nudged away the old vehicles built after World War I. In this case, elegance was synonymous of exaggerated grandeur. And behind the wheel of the Peugeot 601, Doctor Georges Paulin, a dentist by trade with a flair for designing, laid out his hardtop convertible with a roof that could be retracted into the trunk. New stuff at that time, no doubt about it!

But to make his dream come true, Dr. Paulin had to take his new car to experienced coachbuilder Marcel Pourtut, owner of the well-known 301 C cabriolet. Yet, the most important piece of if was still missing. Could it be possible to sell a vehicle like that? Emile Darl’Mat, a restless car dealer, showed off his professionalism and made that effort pay off.

As many as 3,999 units of the 601 make were built and that was it. The 401, instead, got luckier and was far more accepted by the general public. The 401 model had a 10-hp engine and got its big break at the 1934 Paris Automobile Show. As good as they got, both the 601 and the 401 makes are related to the 201 beaver-tail model, a design that marked Peugeot’s aerodynamic takeoff and gave that car a touch of its own compared to other models. The 401 enjoyed a relative success as a coupe cabriolet. The company built 13,545 units in its three versions (D, DL and DLT). Dr. Paulin himself proposed a 401 D convertible coupe cabriolet that could retract its roof in just 15 seconds.

That car was called the Eclipse. However, the big success of the 401 make was as a long-bodywork cab. In 1937, Peugeot launched the 402 model in a coupe cabriolet version that featured interesting innovations. But that’s just a horse –better yet a car- of another color.