Peugeot 202 Overview: Generations, Specs, and Which One to Buy
A guide to the Peugeot 202 cabrio, built from 1938 to 1948 with a 30 hp engine, covering its single generation and the version worth buying.
The Peugeot 202 is a cabrio produced from 1938 to 1948, offered with a single 30 hp engine across its entire run. It suits collectors and enthusiasts of pre-war and immediately post-war French motoring who want an open-top classic with simple mechanicals rather than a daily driver.
The model line is unusually straightforward. Across ten years of production, Peugeot kept the 202 to one generation, one body style, one gearbox type, and one power output. That makes researching a specific car easier than with most classics: there are no engine-variant pitfalls, no gearbox lottery, and no facelift-versus-pre-facelift debates to untangle. What you see in the specification sheet is what every 202 cabrio carries.
Peugeot 202 generations
1 generation (1938–1948)
The first and only generation of the Peugeot 202 was built from 1938 to 1948 as a cabrio. Every car uses a 30 hp engine paired with a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The generation counts a single modification: the Peugeot 202 1.1 MT, with a 1133 cc engine producing 30 hp. Production spans the Second World War, so the range stayed frozen — the 202 that ended production in 1948 was mechanically the same 30 hp cabrio that appeared in 1938.
Which Peugeot 202 to buy
- 1.1 MT (1 generation): the sole modification of the model, a mass-market version with a 1133 cc engine, 30 hp, manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive — there is no alternative configuration to weigh it against.
Buying used here means buying a car that is at minimum 78 years old, so condition and completeness matter far more than choosing between versions — with only one modification ever made, every surviving 202 shares the same 30 hp drivetrain. The single-variant lineup also simplifies verification: any 202 cabrio claiming a different engine or gearbox does not match the factory specification.
Summary
The Peugeot 202 offers no decision tree: one generation from 1938 to 1948, one cabrio body, one 1.1 MT modification with 1133 cc, 30 hp, a manual gearbox, and rear-wheel drive. The choice is not which version to buy but which surviving example to buy. For anyone drawn to a compact French pre-war cabrio, the 202 1.1 MT is the entire catalogue — and that simplicity is part of its appeal.