Out of Africa

Hangar 136 bring you a Peking Paris LionThis car has proved its capability on the toughest of all historic rallies, the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge in 2019 and is fully prepared ready to take on any HERO-ERA endurance event from the Marathons to South American events, and future Paris Peking Motor Challenges.

It’s all in the DNA! Once labelled the ‘Workhorse of Africa,’ three million 504s were manufactured in Europe but thousands more were built in plants around the world including Nigeria and Kenya, as the 504 became part of daily motorised life in South America, Australia, and right through Africa.

Naturally, as part of the backbone of Africa, the 504 was ripe for motorsport. The basic car with minor modifications was able to finish many gruelling African endurance events, following on from the successes of its older brother, the Peugeot 404 in the East African Safari. Endurance star Bert Shankland won the East African Safari in a Peugeot 404 in 1966 and 67, then Nowicki Zbigniew in 1968, although he had already won once before in a 404 in 1963.

The competition success genuinely spawned huge African sales figures, an achievement noted by Ford and Datsun who subsequently pushed hard to take their own wins in Africa. Datsun were so consumed by motorsport success on the African continent that they commissioned cars to be built directly both by the factory in Japan as well as versions by their European works teams. The result was that both European and Japanese prepared cars were taken to Africa for testing and their drivers forced to choose the best for the contest!

No such dilemma for Ove Anderson and Arne Hertz as they won the 1975 East African Safari Rally in a Peugeot 504 from one works team, and it is this very machine that is for sale that is an accurate evocation of the 1975 winner!



Hannu Mikkola and former FIA President Jean Todt won the Rally du Maroc in the same year in the same spec of 504, and unlike Datsun, all the cars were prepared by the one team in the same specification. Jean-Pierre Nicolas went on to win the 1976 East African Safari in a Peugeot 504 and in 1978 the Cote d’ Ivoire in a 504 Coupe.

This Peugeot 504 offered by Hangar 136, is the epitome of the long range endurance rally car. The 504 was already admired for its robust chassis but this facsimile of the 1975 EAS winner has been reinforced to withstand the pounding yet keep its speed and sure footedness over the harsh terrain. The car is noted for its long suspension travel and the torque tube drive shaft. As the owner observed; The drive train was tuned for maximum torque low down. The engine was rebuilt and balanced by an engine specialist, who completely stripped it and modified it with the P to P in mind - good low down torque being the watchword. The gearbox was stripped and rebuilt, but no ratios changed. The diff ratio was changed with the purpose in mind, and a Quaife torque bias device fitted. The capacity was not changed with the 2 litre class in mind. The suspension was fitted with MCA struts and adjustable dampers. The front and rear ends are basically 505 with the best MCA could supply. The rear turrets were lengthened to accommodate longer dampers The standard wiring was modified with the rally in mind. Basically, the car was purpose built with little regard for cost."

This car has a history of competitive finishes in major endurance rallies such as the London to Cape Town 2012 and the 2019 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge.

The Hangar 136 team of Oliver Gatland-Pendleton and Laurence Pawson would be very happy to provide any further detailed information required, from provenance to major work carried out on the car over the last couple of years.

HANGER 136 – CLASSIC CARS FOR PEOPLE THAT DRIVE

Hangar 136 is a new personalised historic car sales service, an organisation dedicated to sourcing on and off market cars for clients, including brokerage, it is a classic and vintage historic car sales business based at Bicester Heritage which is part of the HERO-ERA family.

“Our goal is to find well maintained, reliable and interesting classics that are ready to be properly used and enjoyed.” Laurence Pawson, Associate Director Hangar 136

“Above all, we want to market cars that we find interesting, and this Peugeot 504 is a typical example of that. We then try to find the right examples that have had all the necessary work completed so that people can buy with confidence, knowing that they aren’t in for any nasty surprises just around the corner!” Oliver Gatland-Pendleton, Associate Director Hangar 136

Laurence; “This is a business that’s been built for drivers that enjoy historic cars from every era. It enjoys support from HERO-ERA which means it also embodies their high standards and aims for the future. Our vision for the company is to sell cars that are ready to be properly used, moving away from the growing trend of ‘garage queens’, and focusing more on mechanical condition, service history and reliability.”

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