Lieutenant Columbo drove a battered Peugeot 403 convertible, and in one episode he claims there were only three like it in North America. Whether that was true hardly mattered. The Columbo Peugeot became as much a part of the character as the rumpled raincoat.
Peter Falk played the detective, and the car fit him perfectly. It was slow, foreign and always a little worse for wear. Next to the muscle cars on other 1970s cop shows, it looked like it had wandered in from another decade.
That was the point. Columbo’s enemies always underestimated him, and his car gave them one more reason to do it.
The “only three” line
First of all, the claim belongs to the character, not to a registry. Auto123’s 2012 look at the car recounts an episode in which Columbo explains that “there were only 3 of these cars in North America.” The writer adds that whether it’s true “is anyone’s guess.”
Real numbers tell a different story about rarity. According to Consumer Guide, Peugeot built only 2,050 of the 403 convertibles during a 1956 to 1961 run. Those are worldwide totals, the magazine notes, not U.S. imports.
Meanwhile, Peugeot’s own magazine says the company never marketed the 403 Cabriolet in the USA. That helps explain why Columbo could get away with the boast.
How Peter Falk found the Columbo Peugeot
The popular story says Falk chose the car himself. MeTV reports that producers let him pick a car from the studio back lot. He found nothing he liked until he spotted the nose of a car poking out at the back of the lot.
That car, MeTV says, “didn’t even have an engine.” Consumer Guide tells a similar version, saying Falk is “supposed to have selected the Peugeot himself” from Universal Studios’ back-lot fleet. Auto123 also calls it a rumour that the actor picked it after seeing one parked at the studio.
Peugeot’s own account adds a twist, however. The company’s magazine agrees that Falk turned down the cars the production team proposed and spotted a 403 in a studio parking lot. But it says that car belonged to a French actor who had brought it across the Atlantic. Even the car’s model year varies between sources, so some details remain fuzzy.
Fortunately, Peugeot’s page does give one hard detail. It lists the car’s registration as “California 044 APD.”
What a Peugeot 403 really was
Under the dents sat a sensible French family car. Peugeot says the 403 was designed by “famous Italian car designer Pininfarina” and built from 1955 to 1966. The company also singles out its curved windshield, which it says looked futuristic next to other cars of the era.
In fact, the 403 overlapped with its own replacement. Peugeot notes that the 404 went into production while the last 403s were still being built. So by the time Columbo reached TV, his car was already a relic of an older Peugeot lineup.
Power came from a modest engine. Consumer Guide lists a 1.5-liter overhead-valve four-cylinder paired with a four-speed manual gearbox. In 2011, MotorAuthority put the convertible’s weight at about 2,400 pounds.
Performance was leisurely, to put it kindly. Auto123 says the drop-top could reach around 80 mph. It also says a 0-60 run took over 20 seconds, and that was when the car was new.
Still, Peugeot had a racing past. Consumer Guide points out that the brand won the Indianapolis 500 in 1913, 1916 and 1919. Columbo’s car, by comparison, never hurried anywhere.
A hard life on screen
As a result of all that screen time, the Columbo Peugeot took a beating. MotorAuthority says it was damaged at least four times during the series’ seven-year first run on NBC. The same article quotes a fan site describing the car as “battered and unbeautiful, eccentric and woeful looking, but still a classic.”
For that reason, the studio also needed backups. GetJerry, an auto-insurance site, reports that the studio leased two matching Peugeots that ran, so a drivable car was always on hand. Three cars in all may have played the part, by that account.
Still, the car kept its dents on purpose. Auto123 calls it a “well-loved yet worn oddity” that suited the character’s quirky persona.
Falk died in June 2011 at age 83, MotorAuthority reported. His Peugeot is still remembered by its plate, California 044 APD, and by the 2,050 convertibles Consumer Guide counts in the whole 403 Cabriolet run.
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