Good Find Friday features interesting vehicles we’ve found for sale while conducting market analysis or appraisal research. They are not for sale by Wolf and Mare and we have no business relationship with the sellers. We just think they’re worth learning about and sharing with our readers!

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Today’s “Cars of Ronin” star car may have the greatest screen time of all the vehicles from the film. As the car Robert DeNiro’s character uses to hunt down last week’s BMW E24 M5, the Peugeot 406 was used in the longest and most exciting car chase from the film. In this week’s Market Monday, I’m featuring a Peugeot 406 for sale in the Netherlands that would make an excellent companion to last week’s car.

Released in 1998, Ronin is a crime thriller set in Europe and directed by the legendary director John Frankenheimer. The story follows a group of professional mercenaries hired to steal a mysterious metal case, depicting their planning, shifting alliances, and pursuit across Paris and the south of France. It’s a fantastic piece of cinema with a terrific ensemble cast and is one of my all-time favorite movies.

Thanks to the movie’s extended and realistically staged car chases that eschew visual effects in favor of real action (aside from a somewhat pitiful use of digital smoke in one scene), Ronin has become a cult film among automotive enthusiasts.

The Peugeot 406 was introduced in 1995 as the successor to the 405 and became one of Peugeot’s most successful mid-size cars, offered in three main body styles: a four-door saloon, a practical five-door estate (known as a Break), and the two-door 406 Coupé styled and built by Italian design house Pininfarina. Buyers could choose from a wide range of petrol and diesel engines, though the 2.0-liter petrol and especially the 2.0 HDi diesel became the most popular across Europe, while higher-spec models used a smooth 3.0-liter V6.

Over its production run through 2004, the 406 achieved strong commercial success with roughly 1.6 million units produced, helping anchor Peugeot’s presence in the European family-car segment. Contemporary European automotive publications such as Top Gear highlighted the Coupé’s design and grand-touring character, while reviews across the British motoring press consistently noted the car’s comfort, refinement, and long-distance usability rather than outright sportiness. A facelift in 1999 updated styling and safety equipment, allowing the 406 to remain competitive against rivals like the Ford Mondeo until it was replaced by the 407.

The Peugeot 406 landed on the radar of international car enthusiasts thanks to its role in Ronin, where Robert De Niro and Jean Reno’s characters drive a Peugeot 406 sedan during the movie’s high-speed chase through Paris. It’s said the production used 4 or 5 Peugeot 406s filmed in real traffic with professional stunt and racing drivers without the use of special effects. Cars were cut in half and towed behind camera rigs, while others were right-hand drive models outfitted with dummy wheels on the actor’s side. The fact that DeNiro is a passenger with a Le Mans race driver at the wheel explains why he looks like he’s going to mess his pants in many scenes.

Today’s Good Find Friday car is a 1999 Peugeot 406 offered for sale by the seller dealer in the Netherlands with an asking price of €7,950 or about $9,400 US.

The car is finished in blue metallic paint with a gray cloth interior, which matches the color combination of the film vehicle. The exterior condition appears to be very good for a car that is over 25 years old. The paintwork displays some rock chips and scuffs visible here and there, but the condition supports the odometer reading of around 61,000 miles. Glass lenses appear crystal clear and crack-free, and the paint has a good bit of gloss. The clearcoat on these cars can fail over time, but this car’s paint looks clean based on the photos.

Gray velour seats with patterned inserts cosset the interior occupants of this Peugeot 406. There are some wrinkles here and there, but the seats look excellent and get bonus points for being the same color and material as the movie car. The rest of the interior also appears to be in excellent condition, including the shift lever, switch gear and gauges. Wood trim both classes up the interior and provides some warmth to contrast with the bluish gray of the upholstery. A Peugeot lion in black relief appears between the tachometer and speedometer, which I find immensely charming.

The movie car is rumored to have been powered by a 3-liter V6, but it’s likely that some of the movie cars were powered by lesser engines to save costs. As depicted in the film, the car has no badging at all except for the grill logo, but even if the hero car had a badge it wouldn’t really prove anything. The V6 cars can be hard to find in good knick, so I’d probably favor condition over engine spec. Today’s car is powered by a 1.8-liter 16-valve engine which puts out around 115 total horsepower. That’s about 80 horsepower down on the V6 engine. You’ll have some fun wringing the power out of the motor with this car’s 5-speed manual transmission, though!

Mounted to the MacPherson front and multi-link rear suspension are a set of alloys that also match the same as those used on the Peugeot 406 in Ronin. Per the listing, this car has been treated to a major service that included filter, fluid, tire and timing belt replacement. According to the dealer, the car is ready to continue racking up the miles with a new owner.

The 6-cylinder variant of the Peugeot 406 sedan is pretty rare, with most V6 examples for sale being the Pininfarina-design coupe body style. The 4-door variant is the most numerous body style and frequently still used as transportation, therefore finding lower-miles and excellent condition examples is difficult.

As you can see in the chart above, the Coupé version commands the highest top-end retail prices, followed by the station wagon version which brings 10-15% over the sedan. Today’s car is priced at €7,950, which is more than double the average high retail price for a 1.8L Peugeot 406. That said, it’s one of the cleanest examples of this popular and ubiquitous French sedan you’re likely to find.

The Peugeot 406 reminds me of other European cars that were immensely popular, offered in multiple variants including sporting styles, and are now just viewed as cheap old cars. Despite the 406’s appearance in Ronin, it’s one of the most affordable cars on our list. If you wanted a small corner of your collection dedicated to Ronin, you could have great examples of both cars from the iconic chase in your garage for under $100,000 — and one of those cars is a perfect condition and low-miles E34 M5.

My favorite part of today’s car? The Dutch-language “You’ll feel better in a Peugeot” sticker in the rear window. By all accounts the Peugeot 406 seems to live up to that motto.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!