A very clean and very green Peugeot 505 SX sedan, seen at a shopping mall in north Beijing. The old Peug’ was in a good shape, no rust or rot, and original down the wheels, and it still had a period license plate!
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This is the China-made Peugeot 505 SX. It was manufactured from 1990 to 1997 by the Guangzhou-Peugeot joint venture. The company was founded in 1985, which made Peugeot one of the first foreign car brands to enter the Chinese market.
Sales were brisk in the beginning but the good times ended in 1997 when the joint venture was disbanded after disagreements between the partners over new investments. In those 12 years the joint venture only manufactured three vehicles: the 505 sedan, the 505 wagon, and the 504 pickup truck.
The spoiler was standard on the SX model. The sporty five-spoke wheels were and shiny wheel arch rims were factory options. The 505 was powered by a 2.0 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with 105hp, good for a claimed top speed of 167km/h and a 0-100 in 14 seconds.
The badge reads ‘Guangzhou Peugeot’. Sadly, the 505 is a very rare sight in China today, as most of these pretty French sedans have now been abandoned or scrapped. May this green example be safe.