Peugeot Motorcycles Announces India Leg Of Paris-Saigon Ride

Inspired by the historic journey from Saigon to Paris by French Navy Officers on Peugeot scooters in 1956, Samuel Felice and Ambroise Prince are riding the Peugeot Django, recreating historic journey but in the opposite direction

Peugeot Motorcycles is a French automaker with 51 per cent controlling stake owned by the Mahindra Group. Back in 1956, two petty officers of the French Navy had travelled from Saigon to Paris riding on Peugeot S57 scooters. Taking inspiration from this 60-year-old historic journey, Peugeot Motorcycles in order to reproduce this journey had flagged off the same journey on August 29 but in the opposite direction. Samuel Felice and Ambroise Prince, who are directors, cameramen as well as editors, started the journey from Paris on the Peugeot Django scooters.

Now, with the journey passing through India, Peugeot Motorcycles has announced the India leg of the Paris-Saigon ride. The leg starts from Kolkata on September 30 and will have the riders crossing though unexplored terrains of North India to exit from Moreh in Manipur. The skills of the riders and the Peugeot scooters will be tested as the India leg will consist of mountain passes and unchartered forests.

“We always wanted to do a road trip and thanks to some intense research, we came across this amazing story that took place exactly 60 years ago. It immediately echoed with our desire for adventure and what could be more exciting than covering a part of the world on a scooter? Two wheeler is a great way to make a road-trip off the beaten path, meeting people and seek beautiful scenery. Django Adventure is our tribute to the raid on its 60th year birthday, and a great opportunity to realise our dream.” the two riders said.

The Peugeot scooters will be seen traversing through 14 countries during the journey. The Django is a scooter that is directly inspired by the S57 that was used by the officers, thus becoming the obvious vehicle of choice. This ride is supported by Total Group, the 4th largest company in the lubricants market globally, and Planet Ride, road trip and adventure specialists. 

Speaking on the India Leg, Vinod Sahay, chief executive officer, Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. said: “This is the first time that Peugeot scooters will be seen on Indian roads. It gives us immense pleasure to be associated with this historical ride and we feel immensely proud that India will be a part of this passionate and challenging road trip.”

A virtual diary will be maintained by the two friends in which they will share their adventure and experience during the ride. Apart from blogs on posts on major social media platforms, they will also be creating a short film on the journey after its completion.