4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY BASE MODEL · 1981–92
BASE MODELFrance

P4 (1981–92)

The French Army’s G-Wagen: the Peugeot P4, built from 1981 under a 50-50 agreement with Mercedes-Benz — the G-Class chassis and body with Peugeot’s 504 petrol and 604-derived transmission, later the 2.5 XD3 diesel — 13,500 ordered (reduced from 15,000), in short and long bodies, with about 6,000 built by Panhard at Marolles-en-Hurepoix from 1985 and the armoured P4P and special-forces P4 VPS among the variants.

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Sources & evidence
P4 (1981–92) — A French Army P4 on Bastille Day, 2011Arnaud Lambert · CC0 ↗
MODEL LINEP4BUILT BYPeugeot, SochauxPRODUCED1981–92PRODUCTION13,500 orderedLAYOUT4 wheels · 94.5″

The record

France wanted a jeep replacement built at home; after its own designs stalled, Peugeot and Mercedes agreed to co-produce the G, Peugeot supplying engines and gearboxes and assembling at Sochaux, Panhard taking over assembly from 1985. The P4 served the French Army and Gendarmerie for forty years, was refurbished by Panhard in the 2000s and is being replaced by the VT4 from 2018.

Specification

MANUFACTURED1981–92
ENGINE2.0-litre XN8 petrol four; 2.5-litre XD3 diesel four
PRODUCTION RUN13,500 ordered; about 6,000 assembled by Panhard
COUNTRY OF ORIGINFrance
STATUSreplaced in service by the VT4 (Ford Everest) from 2018
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINEP4
FAMILYP4
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE94.5″
BODY STYLEShort wheelbase
VARIANTS3

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Body styles & colours

Body style

Factory colours

  • Vert armée (French Army green)

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Peugeot P4 ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE
  2. 2Mercedes-Benz G-Class ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-22 · status: researched