model with the smaller 7CV (7 fiscal horsepower) engine from the 203. At the time of the 203's demise, this stripped down version of the Peugeot 403 was presented as the replacement for the 203, though it could be argued that the spacious front-wheel-drive 1300 cc Peugeot 304, which appeared only in 1969, or indeed the consecutively named Peugeot 204 more directly occupied the market niche which in the early 1950s the 203 had made its own. Australian production The 203 was released on the Australian market in September 1949. The 203 was also assembled in Australia, beginning in mid 1952, and thus becoming the first Peugeot model to enter production in that country. Cape Town-Paris This was the route taken by Andre Mercier and Charles de Cortanze in 1953, it was and they performed it in a record time of 17 days. The event also sparked interest in the incredible fuel economy of the vehicle – a single tank lasted , even with the tough terrain. In 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the heroic journey, Didier Pijolet and Leigh Wootton both completed the feat in under a month. They were armed with their own 203s, one co-driver respectively and a film crew. 2006 Ampol Rerun On April 23, 2006 in Sydney, about a dozen Peugeot 203 vehicles (together with other Peugeot models - 204, 403, 404) set off in the "Peugeot 2006 Round Australia Rerun". An event organised by Graham Wallis from the Peugeot Car Club of Victoria to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Ampol Round Australia Trial which was won by Wilf Murrell and Allan Taylor in a Peugeot 403 sedan after covering of rugged Australian roads and tracks. In 2003, Graham Wallis organised a 50th Anniversary Rerun of the 1953 Redex Round Australia Trial in which eleven Peugeot 203s started and ten finished. The 203 win in the original Redex Trial significantly raised the profile of Peugeot in post WW2 Australia. Sources and further reading 203 Mid-size cars Sedans Station wagons Convertibles Coupés Rear-wheel-drive vehicles 1950s cars 1960s cars Cars introduced in 1947