I’ve seen a pair of Dangel 4×4 Peugeot 505 Breaks in the Peugeot Museum in Sochaux, but I don’t know much of the history. I found this article that’s been translated from AutoWeek NL to be quite interesting. First, a bit of background: Cool, but why the 4×4 wagon? ssion for motorsport. He developed a racing car under his own steam: the Mangouste. The design was very similar to the Lotus 23, but with the engine in the back. It was legal on the road so you could participate in hill climbs and rally sprints. Equipped with a Renault-Gordini 1100 engine, the Dangel Mangouste, light at just 440 kg, delivered exceptional performance. This is partly due to its space frame and a sophisticated, light wheel suspension. The Mangouste was so successful that it was offered in various variants and after numerous upgrades until 1975 – as a kit car or as a completely finished model. The end of the Mangouste was partly caused by Henry Dangel having to shift his focus to a new project; he was asked by wheel manufacturer BBS to manage their production in France. He was also successful in that; the SERAL (Sociéte Europeane Roues Aluminium) factory produced 20,000 wheels per month with 70 employees. It’s not a super sophisticated system, but it seems to work. The article goes on to assert that Dangel created the crossover 30 years before anyone else. It’s a habit of the French to claim they invented everything, but if you consider the 504 Breaks I’m tempted to think they’re right. Update: There’s a good convo going in the comments and, looking deeper, I think the AMC Eagle beats the Dangle 4×4 504 by a year, though that follows the Matra Rancho, which would still give the French the title. – MH Whether or not it’s the first crossover, the idea is there. Plus, a 505 Dangel 4×4 Break is one of the coolest vehicles imaginable. I doubt there was much (or any) demand for similar vehicles here, and in any case Kurtis was busy churning our “roadsters” for the Indianapolis “500.” So only two were built as far as I know. And then icing on the cake…when I came across a Matchbox Kurtis Sport Car in the store, knew exactly what it was and why I had to have it! All I can clearly remember is that it was a beast. And loud. And red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVOD5D4IArw The El Camino and Ranchero are utes! So.. wait.. are they sport utility vehicles? I guess they can be if BMW can call a sedan a coupe.. words mean nothing, call them whatever the hell you want. Their special builds even tackled the Paris-Dakar race in its early days, soon after the company was absorbed into Renault, with a Renault 4 Sinpar taking two podiums in the first couple editions if I’m not mistaken. Then in 1982 a Renault 20 Sinpar actually took the win, driven by the same guys who took podiums in the Quatrelle (the Marreau brothers). That same year 12 Peugeot 504 Dangel entered the race, and the best placed finished 49th (but in all fairness those were not factory-backed).
- -ish: the threads looked to be about an inch &1/4 Case in point: https://www.txclsx.com/index.php/product/1938-ford-woody-marmon-herrington/ I’ve always considered the Eagle to be the first production crossover.
