The Peugeot 403 is remembered as the car that pushed Peugeot past the million mark, a Pininfarina-styled saloon renowned for being nearly indestructible. Less familiar are the commercial derivatives — pickups, camionnettes and fourgons — built on the strengthened U-series chassis, which soldiered on in production even after the 404 replaced the saloon. Fitted with the 1,468 cc four in detuned 58 hp form, they served French tradesmen, farmers and public services for two decades, and the chassis was a favourite base for coachbuilt ambulances, typically fitted with tall box bodies by specialists such as Heuliez, Pichon-Parat or local carrossiers.

The example offered here is exactly that: a 403 ambulance with the characteristic high roof, porthole windows and twin rear doors opening onto a wooden-floored patient compartment. First registered on 29 July 1960 and still on French papers, it is presented as a barn find, and the photographs are refreshingly candid: dusty but complete engine bay, an untouched grey interior with the original ivory wheel and column shift, and a rear body that appears sound and unmolested. The seller states it starts immediately, drives and brakes — “but no more than that.”

Period ambulances rarely survive; most were worked to death or scrapped once retired, which makes any running, complete example a genuine curiosity, and it is hard to think of a cheaper way into a coachbuilt French classic. This is not a car for concours ambitions but a perfect candidate for sympathetic recommissioning, after which it would draw a crowd at any French car gathering that no restored 403 saloon could match. Find it for sale at €5,690 (about $6,500) here in Cologne, Germany.