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#6 09-08-2015, 06:29 AM

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The Peugeot 402 in a world without petrol
The speed of the French defeat in June 1940 may have come as a shock, but the advent of another war with Germany and of resulting restrictions on civilian fuel availability had been widely foreseen. In 1939 Peugeot were already investigating the adaptation of petrol/gasoline engines to run on gas created by the controlled burning of charcoal. The technology would prove particularly suitable for the long bodied Peugeot 402 and for the Peugeot DMA light truck. On the car it was possible to fit the necessary components without excessive modification of the bodywork. A charcoal burning boiler, able to accommodate 35 kg of charcoal, was mounted on a stout platform at the back of the car. This provided sufficient power for approximately 80 km (50 miles) before more charcoal needed to be taken on board. The controlled burning of the charcoal produced carbon monoxide, known as gazog�ne, which was captured and transferred in a stout pipe mounted on the outside of the right-hand C-pillar to a roof mounted gas tank. From here another stout pipe mounted on the outside of the right hand A-pillar drew the gazog�ne down to the engine. Between 1940 and 1944 more than 2,500 Peugeots were equipped with a gazog�ne fuel system.
During the war motor fuel for civilian use disappeared, and more than 2,500 Peugeots were adapted to run on gas generated through the controlled burning of charcoal in a boiler mounted on the vehicle. The 402 Longue was found to be particularly suitable for the conversion.