January 2012

Kia Optima

It’s been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima finally hits UK soil this month. Our man James has already reviewed the Stateside 2.0 Turbo petrol and he was very impressed. The old Magentis was pound-shop cheap but the Optima has got the executive car looks with a touch of Korean flair and at around £18,000 it’s great value.

Mercedes SLK 55 AMG

Just like the last SLK, the new R172 pretty much steals the look of the German firm’s flagship supercar and shrinks them. This month will see the AMG version which has a 5.5L V8 containing 416 horses that will take it from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds. It’s less powerful than the SLS roadster but the SLK AMG comes with a better folding metal roof and a slightly more frugal unit for around £58,000. That’s over £100,000 cheaper than its bigger brother.

Suzuki Swift Sport

The new Swift Sport comes with a naturally aspirated 1.6 petrol with more power, more MPG thanks to a 6th gear and less CO2. The Swift is one of the finest handling superminis out there, almost as good as the original Mini as some have reported. The Sport version is predicted to be £14,000 which makes it a great value hot hatch. Car Throttle front man will get his hands on one in April to deliver his verdict.

February 2012

Audi A1 Sportback

The 3-door A1 is a great looking premium hatchback but practicality is flawed. The Sportback, though, comes with 2 extra doors and 3 rear seats for an extra £560 over the 3 door, making it more comfy for your mates. It’s also available in Samoa Orange which is an exclusive paint job to the Sportback and it will get the same engines as the standard car.

BMW 3 Series Saloon

There’s not much change on the outside of the F30 3 Series (the only big difference being the more poised kidneys) but inside it’s a complete revolution. The dashboard wraps around the driver like in the older 3-s and looks more lively than the last car. You can even have red trim pieces and stitching on the leather and fabric seats of the Sport models. Most magazines and websites have driven the new 3 already and the overall verdict is that it’s the best 3 Series yet.

Hyundai Veloster

The last coupe we saw from Hyundai in the UK was called the Genesis Coupé and, to me, it looked like a smaller and cheaper Jaguar XK. It was one of the best looking cheap coupés of its time. This one though is taking on the likes of the Scirocco and Megane Coupe, though the Hyundai’s looks won’t appeal to everyone. It does have a unique trick up its sleeve which is the odd door layout (one door on the driver’s side and two on the pavement side) and means your friends won’t have to clamber over the front seats to get into the back. It comes with a 1.6 138bhp which is reported to be a tad slow but a 201bhp Turbo version of the Veloster will make it here in August. Pricing is competitive, starting at £18,000 for the standard car and £23,000 for the Turbo.

March 2012

Chevrolet Camaro SS

Finally, after a wait of what feels like decades, the Camaro has had its suspension tweaked for Europe and this means we’ll see both the Camaro Coupe and Convertible on British roads this March. Both Camaros come with a 6.2 V8 that produces 426bhp meaning a 0-60mph time of 4.7 seconds. The coupe could be yours for just £35,000 and the convertible for £40,000 the convertible, what a steal! The convertible is rumored to be left-hand drive only, however.

Citroen DS5

This has to be the coolest family car ever made. The reason: it’s just so different. Inside and out is as luxurious as the big executive saloons but the DS5 is a sort of estate/hatchback crossover with a raised ride height. The interior is inspired by cockpits of airliners and it shows. The big Citroen is also available with Peugeot’s HYbrid4 system, combining a diesel engine and an electric engine which will mean hardly any CO2 and massive mpg. Prices are predicted to be around £28,000. We’ll also see an Ultra Prestige version of the ever so popular DS3 from Citroen in March which has things like charcoal grey alloys, luxury leather seats and a white leather dash, ooh la-la!

Volkswagen Up!

The Up! is the first of a trio of city cars from the Volkswagen group to hit our roads. Even though it’s city car cheap (£8,000) it doesn’t feel it. It looks like a premium product and has an interior to match. It will certainly be a hit for new drivers especially since it comes with a cheap to run 1.0 3 cylinder engine. The 3-door will be available in March with a 5-door version arriving in July. The Seat Mii will arrive in May and the Skoda equivalent CitiGo will be on the road in June.

April 2012

Ferrari “F620″

The successor to the 599 is apparently going to be called the “F620″ but the car itself will be revealed at this year’s Geneva motor show in March along with the confirmed name. It takes an updated version of the 700bhp 6.3 V12 from the FF and promises a 0-60mph time of around three seconds, maybe less, thanks to a very light aluminium chassis.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

In a way, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is like the Chevrolet Camaro Coupe. It’s predicted to be £60,000 making it a value for money performance SUV which is way cheaper than rivals from Porsche, Mercedes, Audi & BMW. It comes with a 6.4 V8 that produces 470bhp.

Lotus Evora GTE

The lighter Evora GTE gets a tuned up version of the 3.5 supercharged V6 which aims to produce 438bhp. The plus is the fact that the GTE comes with carbon fibre panels that take 105kg off the original weight meaning that this Evora is going to be one heck of a bonkers Lotus. Prices are expected to be around £100,000.

May 2012

Audi S1

Yes, it’s another small Audi, but this is the spicy S1 with a 220bhp 1.6L petrol engine. It’s not totally immature, though, as it comes with four wheel drive and a wider track to provide secure handling. The S1 is also lower and stiffer than the everyday A1. A predicted price of £23,000 may put you off, especially since that’s low spec Scirocco money.

Fisker Karma

It’s the only plug-in hybrid you would probably lust for more than some supercars. It comes with a 2.0 four-cylinder petrol and two 199bhp electric motors which produce more torque than a Bugatti Veyron meaning a 0-60mph time of 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 125mph. Set the car into “Stealth” mode and it should return up to 100mpg. “Stealth” mode sounds a lot more hairy chested than wimpy “Eco” mode doesn’t it? The Surf shooting brake will follow suit in July.

MINI Roadster

The most controversial part of the MINI Coupe was that big backwards baseball cap of a roof, which I personally hate. Thankfully, MINI have addressed this issue and made a roadster version to take on the likes of the Mazda MX-5. It looks better than the bigger MINI convertible as well thanks to the fabric roof properly folding away into the boot instead of lying on the rear deck like a tired walrus.

June 2012

Audi S8

If Jason Statham was still transporting goods with no questions asked, the new S8 would be his vehicle of choice. The 4.0 513bhp twin-turbo V8 goes from 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds and has a limited top speed of 155mph. The S8 has an invincible feeling cabin with features such as double glazed privacy windows and a noise cancelling system. I would want to hear the V8 though.

BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe

The biggest gripe that everyone has with the 6 Series Coupe is the fact that the “practical gran tourer” struggles to fit two human beings in the back. This 6 Series though is stretched and has two extra doors so that two friends can sit comfortably in the rear seats. This means that four people can enjoy the beautifully designed interior and the excellent engines from the 6 Series coupe. Prices start from £61,380 which is more than the Mercedes CLS and Audi A7 it is up against.

Peugeot 208

The newest Peugeot supermini fixes the big lumpy looks of the old 207 to offer a fitter and sharper looking package. Even though it’s smaller than the previous car, the 208 promises more space for people in the back and more things in the boot. Every version besides the standard car gets a very nice touch screen multimedia system which controls most of the car’s functions. Nearly all of the engines promise under 100g/km of CO2 and prices start at £10,500 for this attractive small car.

July 2012

Ford Focus ST

The last ST was famously nicknamed the “ASBO” by an old geezer named Jeremy Clarkson. With this in mind, the new ST will probably get handed a community service sentence with a 0-60mph time of 6 seconds and a predicted top speed of 155mph thanks to a 2.0 Turbocharged four-cylinder petrol with 247bhp. The new ST will be easier on your wallet with better economy than the previous 2.5 5-cylinder car and it’s more practical too with a choice between a 5-door hatch and estate. What would complete the range is a sporty 3-door coupe-esque version of the Focus, in my opinion.

Subaru BRZ & Toyota GT-86

Ladies and Gents, the old school, rear wheel drive, purists’ coupe is back and it comes with a choice of two badges and bumper styles; Subaru and Toyota. Both versions get a 2.0 flat-4 boxer engine that produces 197bhp and goes from 0-60mph in 7 seconds. The GT-86 and BRZ can fit four people in comfort (if the people in the back seats are under 5ft 5″ that is) and prices for both cars are predicted to start at around £25,000. They’re the cars that everyone is waiting for this year and we’re dying to try both of them out.

August 2012

Audi S6

Imagine putting the 513bhp 4.0 twin turbo V8 from the new Bentley Continental and S8 in the lightest executive car out there. No need to imagine after August as Audi will fit the new engine in both the new A6 Saloon and Avant. If this is just the S6, I wonder how insane the next RS6 will be.

Porsche Boxster

The next version of the class leading, mid-engined roadster looks a bit like a baby Carrera GT but shares all the tech with the new 911. The standard car will have an all new flat four unit producing 270bhp and the Boxster S will use the same 3.4 flat six as the 911 Carrera.

Vauxhall Astra VXR

The most powerful hot hatch of the 2012 bunch is the new Astra VXR. It promises up to 280bhp which means a 0-60 time of less than 6 seconds thanks to a 2.0 direct injection petrol. It also comes with more aggressive looking trinkets than the standard Astra GTC and it’s much more pleasing to the eye compared to the predecessor. All yours for £25,000.

September 2012

Ferrari F70

Introducing the next Ferrari flagship to take over the Enzo, the F70. No official performance figures have been released yet but it’s rumored to have over 700bhp thanks to an all new twin-turbo V8. Mix this with a very light carbon fibre chassis and it sounds like it will be the next ultimate road car. It’s also very expensive with an estimated price of £750,000.

Mercedes SL

The Mercedes SL has been one of the best sports cars ever since the 1950s and this latest one aims to be much better to drive thanks to better suspension. It’s also the lightest and has a more luxurious interior inspired by the SLS supercar. It’s the first SL to get ‘Magic Sky Control’ which lets you alter how much light gets into the car when the roof is up, much like the sunroof on a Maybach. Fancy schmancy.

Renault Clio Williams

To celebrate the end of the current Renault Clio, the company have teamed up with F1 Team Williams to create the last hurrah, just like they did in 1993. It’s pretty much a RenaultSport Clio 200 but with a unique paint job, a better engine and a very special interior.

November 2012

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

There’s only going to be 150 of these so if you like the sound of the new Zagato then you better have the cheque book out. It’s based on the V12 Vantage but contains the design house’s luxurious cabin and has a carbon fibre body. Write £400,000 on that cheque before they’re auctioned for more.

Ford Fiesta ST

Available as a 3 door here in the UK and a 5 door in the US, the other ST from Ford has a 178bhp 1.6 Turbo petrol taking it to 60mph from standstill in under 7 seconds with a top speed of 140mph. Just because it’s a powerful supermini don’t go thinking it will guzzle petrol as it promises up to 40mpg. It should be a fantastic hot hatch especially since the current Fiesta is one of the best to drive. Prices will start at around £17,500.

Maserati Quattroporte

The new Maserati takes some of the looks of the odd looking Kubang and puts them in a much more gorgeous package. The new saloon is set to be even more desirable than the previous Quattroporte with an updated V8 and prices will start at £85,000.

December 2012

Alfa Romeo 4C

There’s a couple of great coupes joining the BRZ & GT-86 this December. The first is the 4C which has a beautiful Italian body and a carbon fibre chassis courtesy of KTM underneath. Power comes from a new 1.8 Turbo petrol producing nearly 300bhp meaning a 0-60mph time of 5 seconds. The car’s target market is America which means it will come with Alfa’s twin-clutch automatic but an option of a manual would make it even better. Prices are expected to start from £40,000.

Jaguar C-X16

The second of the coupes is the C-X16 which is nicknamed “the new E-Type” all because it’s pretty much a new version of the old girl. Unlike the E-type, there’s a 375bhp 3.0 V6 mated to a 97bhp electric motor underneath which should keep the bank manager and your environmentally conscious friends happy but it’s not clear if the production version will get the electric motor.  0-60mph is around 4 seconds and the top speed is limited to 186mph with prices predicted to start at £50,000.

Volkswagen Beetle R

The Beetle returns at the beginning of the year and it’s aimed to appeal to us men. To make it appeal to men even more is this R version coming in December which has the same 2.0 TSI as the Golf GTI as well as more aggressive looks and bucket seats. Prices are expected to be around the same as the GTI which means it’s a good alternative if you find the Golf’s looks a bit boring.

So there you have it, 33 of quite a damn few new cars coming in 2012. We hope to test drive most of them plus more for you and with a growing team and site you’ll want to stay online with us.

Which car are you most excited about seeing this year? Let us know in the comments.

Tough call between this girl and that RCZ. Both win in my book.

The study shows that millions of British men, mostly guys from the South East and the West Midlands, find it much easier to look after their cars compared to looking after their women and that nearly a third of young men spend much more time looking for the perfect car instead of the perfect woman in their lives. They would even prefer to spend their money on their ride instead of buying you gifts and meals out! I sense an imminent attack of girl power coming…

It’s not just your boyfriends that seriously care about their cars though, 14% of single men and women believe that having a sporty car will help them attract their perfect soul mate. Anyone suffering a midlife crisis is just as bad as a fifth of people over the age of 55, who feel that owning expensive sports cars will help attract a lover.

What our car means to us varies across different parts of the country. For instance, if your man is a Londoner and you decide to dump him, the survey says he wouldn’t shed a tear yet if his car was stolen there would be waterfalls coming out of his eyes. A Yorkshire man would say his car is better looking than you and Welshmen spend much more time with their cars than with your lovely selves. Don’t panic ladies, us lads here at Car Throttle aren’t that bad, honest!

Seriously fellas, listen to cupid who in this case is behavior and relationship expert Dr Pam Spurr. Balance your car love with the love for your girl. Why not combine them and take her out on romantic drives or take her and the car to an exciting track day?

See, now she’s all angry and mad all because you chose the RCZ over her, stupid tube!

And ladies, you surely understand our love for cars? Hell, some of you even give your cars cute names, fit them with pink steering wheel grips, hang giant dice off the rear-view mirror and put little stickers on the windows.

..I’m just saying..

The 2+2 sports coupe segment is one of the most competitive in the auto industry. In the corner of the rings are heavyweights such as the Audi TT and Porsche Carrera, all the way up to cars with undisputed championships belts such as the Ferrari FF. However, a new fighter has emerged from Continental Europe in the form of the Peugeot RCZ.

The famous Pug lion is now surrounded by letters, not numbers, and certainly seems to have the styling to boot. With a sleek and low chrome-insert grille all the way around the derriere to the double-bubble roof and twin sports exhaust, from appearances alone it’s clear that Peugeot have come out all guns blazing in an attempt to shake up the TT-dominated market. And at £5,000 less than the TT with a starting price of only £21,210 on the road, does this French manufacturer have a fighting chance?

To find out, we took the RCZ on a test drive through Chobham Common to see whether the top of the range GT THP 200 model, a 1.6l petrol with 200 horsepower to boot, has the power, punch and efficiency that we’ve come to expect from ze Germans. For the full video review please click the link below, and for the full text review, watch this space as the review will be published very soon with a full gallery.

Car Throttle: 2011 Peugeot RCZ Video Review

Weight wise it has lost 173kg meaning that the 208 promises to be more agile and efficient and it’s more aerodynamic and compact with 7cm off the length and 1cm off the height. Even though it’s smaller on the outside Peugeot promise that there’s going to be more space inside with 5cm more legroom for the mates and 15 litres more space in the boot for junk.

Like the 508 saloon, the 208 will come with the new ‘Floating’ front grille instead of the weird grinning one on the old car as well as ‘boomerang’ style rear lights. Just like the last car there will be the choice of a 3-door or 5-door body styles and, as with most hatches, the 3-door is the better looking one. It has more dramatic lines, a nice continuing chrome trim past the rear window and it has horizontal bars on grille instead of mesh like on the 5-door.

The inside is just as revolutionary as the outside. The chrome lines around the dials remind of the shape of the exhaust on a Lamborghini Aventador and the rest of the dashboard is swish too. Instead of buttons littered around the inside, the entertainment, navigation and vehicle dynamic functions on all but the basic car are controlled by a large touchscreen media centre meaning a much cleaner looking dashboard.

The style director at Peugeot, Gilles Vidal said, ”The strength of the 208 lies in its style: it is a real ball of energy. It has the potential to please everyone, like a popular piece of music that touches the human soul regardless of culture.”

There will be two 3-cylinder petrol engines to choose from when the car hits the road in spring 2012, a 1.0L and a 1.2L VTi, with the smaller petrol promising less than 100 g/km of Co2 emissions and up to 65.7mpg. If you want to save more cash on running costs there are HDi diesels to choose from as well with the most economical one promising only 87 g/km of Co2 out of the tailpipe and a gallon of diesel will take you 83.1 miles.

So that’s the standard car but will there be a GTi version? The answer is a definite yes and it promises to bring back the spirit of the original 205 GTi because the 208 will have a small sporty steering wheel and the big weight loss and a new level of engineering applied to the little Peugeot means a much better driving experience for both the everyday 208 and the GTi compared to the old 207. You won’t see the fast one until the end of next year though.

Peugeot has always had a penchant for odd or extreme concepts (hello there, Peugeot Oxia!), and they always seem to fit with the times.  So it was little surprise that Peugeot had a hybrid at the Paris show.  Being French, there are a few unusual things about this hybrid, though.

The HR1 uses a 1.2L turbocharged 3 cylinder to drive the front wheels, and an electric motor to drive the rear wheels.  And no, they’re not connected in any way.  No parallel hybrid, no range-extended electric vehicle… just, an electric motor out back.  Because they can.  Total output is said to be 147 horsepower, 110 through the engine and 37 through the electric motor.  The gas engine transmits power through a six-speed automatic.  The company claims the HR1 will consume just 3.5L/100km of fuel, which is 67mpg on the US scale, which seems optimistic, but what do I know?

Now, all that’s great, but here’s a more important question:  What is the HR1 supposed to be?  Why do we need a French version of the first two-door Rav4 with Koenigsegg “Dyhedral Synchro-Helix” doors and a melting A-pillar?  Is it an SUV, a city car, a shopping trolley, a backpack, or a badger?  I’m not really sure.  It’s not unattractive – it just doesn’t make much sense.  Business as usual for French concept cars, then.  Peugeot says they have no plans to produce the HR1, which should surprise no one at all – but they say it might preview some styling cues on future cars.  We’ll see.

But maybe the answer is even simpler. A performance car brings a smile to your face when you’re attacking corners down a windy road or enjoying the rush of speed it gives while powering down a long straight. It may not be the fastest car around, but if the performance of the car can give you that certain high, I would assume that the car does fulfill the performance car criteria in a certain sort of way.

This brings me to the Peugeot 308 1.6 THP Turbo Automatic I drove recently. It has almost the same ingredients as a Golf GTI with the exception that it has a smaller engine. Something like a Golf GT with its smaller engine but with the uprated suspension. The 308 has the badging – ‘turbo’ on its rear, large alloys, a stiff suspension and a curvy bulbous body. It looks its part, but is it a performance car OR a car that can give you that smile on your face because of its performance?

In order to answer that question, we start with dull bits first. The 308 has got pedestrian safety covered with the long overhang up front as well as a bulbous JLo styled butt. Some argue that the 308 is over styled and I have to agree with it. It is a 307 that had been elongated up front and at the rear. It does look pretty cutting edge, but I do feel that it is slightly over styled because of certain things like that ridiculous overhang upfront. It finishes its looks by sporting 225/45/17 sized tires on 17 inch five spoke rims that bring out the sporty pretensions of this Pug even more.

The 308 1.6 THP has the usualy slew of features like ABS, EBD, a 5 star NCAP rating and the clean Euro 4 -5 engine covered as the engine is a collaboration between PSA and BMW. So it is economical, reliable and powerful. But all the safety features stated above as well as modern day soundproofing has made this purportedly sporty hatchback into something disappointing. As for those who think that a hatchback with a turbo can make anything into a ‘performance car’ or a hot hatch, think again. This 308 made 140bhp, 240Nm of torque made from a turbocharged 1.6 that is also used in the smaller 207GT and the current BMW Mini.

The power delivery of this engine is pretty good as you can find that the engine picks up steam at an early 1800rpm in the 308. While it feels strong even with the archaic four speed automatic (with manual tiptronic + and – function) transmission that the car had. The torque the turbocharged engine makes fills up the gaps in the gearing that a four speed autobox usually has. It takes a pedestrian 9.2 seconds to reach 100km/h but this does not reflect on the somewhat ample mid-range performance that the 308 has when you shift down a gear manually either to overtake or to pull yourself out of a bend. I practically used the car in manual mode throughout the duration of the time I drove the 308. I prefer the control it gives.

However, if you compared the acceleration with the BMW Mini, which shares the same engine, this engine makes the Mini reach 60 at least two seconds sooner than the 308. Two seconds could be a lifetime to some single-celled organisms. This is because the Mini weighs nearly 200kgs less than the 308. Therefore the 308 is a warm hatch because of the weight.

Now the other thing that the extra weight does is affect handling. The torquey engine cannot mask all of the problems brought up by the weight. The 308 feels heavy handed when taking corners at higher than usual speeds. Take a tight corner at around 90km/h it will show understeer quite early into a corner. You can tell that it is somewhat porky when you’re wrestling with the steering wheel mid corner. Its like a boxer with some flab around his waist, jumping up and down, trying to jab and punch but its responses are slightly out of sync with his real intentions.

Another thing wrong with the 308 is that even with its slightly firm ride it is not able to handle mid corner bumps and undulations well. A mid-corner bump taken in this car would make the car feel unsettled where you have to adjust and make extra corrections with the steering. The steering feel on this Pug is only average and when you add all the extra work you have to do trying to wrestle it all into shape it adds up to something less fulfilling to do.

Furthermore, the car rides on the firm side for a 5 door hatch. Cars that ride as firm as the 308 should be able to handle well. But give the 308 a road with more than one pothole, rut, or bump and it’ll bounce and lurch uncontrollably like the French Army admitting defeat right after being Blitzkrieged by the Germans. The dampers seem to have decent bounce and truly rubbish rebound settings.

I have to also add the fact that Peugeot has lost its touch to make cars ride comfortably as well as handle. It s ride is nothing like the 405s or 406s people I knew had. The 308 does not have the magic carpet ride like Peugeots of old. It is not sports car firm but it isn’t all that comfortable too.

The thing is, this was the 2010 version of the 308 and this car has been around since end-2007 in most markets. Peugeot have not changed any aspect of the handling to this date as I remember reading about this flawed handling characteristic in magazines before.

I think if you drive it as a means of transport the 308 is fine, but asking this car to be a performance car is asking too much from it even though it has a good engine and nice fat tires on 17 inch alloys that look its part. This is a French hot hatch that basically ate too much Hors D’oeuvers, lots of Foie Gras, croissants, and then washed it all down with lots of Chardonnay thereby turning something hot into something warm. Writing this has suddenly made me hungry.

Disclaimer: This test vehicle was provided to CarThrottle by the manufacturer for purposes of evaluation

Peugeot 308 1.6THP Picture Gallery

Peugeot 308 1.6THP Specifications

Base Price: £18,000 (approx)– 308 THP 1.6 150bhp 6sp manual (THP auto may not be available in the UK but is very available in Malaysia)

Body: 5-door Hatch
Mechanical Orientation: Front Wheel Drive

Engine: 4 cylinder 1.6 Turbocharged
Power: 140 bhp (down 10bhp from the manual)
Torque: 240 Nm
Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic Transmission (with + and – “manual” function)

Weight: 1440 kg
Wheelbase: 2610 mm
Length: 4276 mm
Width: 1821 mm
0-62 mph: 9.2 seconds
Top Speed: 203 km/h

For: Looks, high speed refinement, decent interior
Against: Looks, weight, weight, handling, weight
Conclusion: A warm porky hatch

The car has an eye-catching design that is hunkered down and sleek – one of the cars we wish was sold in the United States. The RCZ remained surprisingly true to the concept that came before it in 2008.

We love the double-bubble roof and the unique proportions. If you do too, check out some of the new pictures of the car released by Peugeot.

Could the company be moving away from that with its latest new vehicles? It certainly seems so.

The last concept by Peugeot, the SR1 showed a far more sedate, and dare we say a bit bland new Peugeot styling language. The 5 by Peugeot continues that. Peugeot still has to show its different side in the name though – 5 by Peugeot?

You can bet that won’t be sticking around for the production model. This concept looks to be a pretty close preview to the production model replacement for the 508.

The car looks upscale, clean and good looking, particularly from certain angles, but doesn’t seem to bring anything new to the table.

It is also a bit bland from a brand that has traditionally been anything but. Considering that this is the concept model, that can’t bode well for what is likely to be an even more tame production car.

The detail we like is the taillights out back – they have a unique design and layout, with two elongated sections and three central pieces connecting them.

Like most concepts lately, the car is a hybrid. In this case the primary engine is a 163 horsepower 2.0-liter HDi FAP diesel engine along with a 37-horsepower electric unit.

Peugeot calls the system Hybrid4 (for all-wheel drive) and says that the system will have the ability for an electric-only range. It likely will be a small figure, but it is good to see the availability of running on electric-only power spreading to more hybrid systems.

We’ll have to wait to see more official images and details to be able to judge completely. In the meantime, what do you think? Is this the direction Peugeot should be going in?

The Lion emblem was first conceived in 1847 by Julien Blazer, a jeweler and engraver, when he was asked by Jules and Emile Peugeot, founder of Peugeot Frères, to produce a logo for identifying all Peugeot products. The Peugeot lion could be found on such diverse products as saw blades, coffee grinders in 1881, bicycles in 1882 and, from 1898, on motorcycles. In 1906 that the emblem first appeared on a production car.

But all this started 200 years ago and to commemorate the anniversary of a French concern that went from being cereal mill into a steel foundry and eventually, to a motorcycle and automobile manufacturer Peugeot announced a new look for its cars – such as the upcoming SR1 Concept that will be debuted at the Geneva Show – and a new reading of its well known Lion emblem.

Now appearing much more three dimensional, the updated Lion looks more forceful and sinuous. It will make its official unveiling on the upcoming Peugeot RCZ sports coupe that will be launched in the spring of 2010, and will be seen across the entire range after that.

There are worse emblems to choose than a lion, that’s for sure. I remember reading back during the Group B era of the World Rally Championship that Peugeot went with the hollow lion logo, the one that was just an outline, because it would allow more airflow into the engine compartment, giving both better cooling and more air into the intake. Yeah, probably apocryphal, but it also shows you the lengths these guys will go to, to get just a little bit more.

Source: CarScoop

First things first: while the RCZ is a striking 2+2 coupe, underneath it’s really mostly a Peugeot 308, which is the French firm’s bread-and-butter Golf competitor.  Which makes sense, considering the Audi TT is a Golf underneath.  The production version of the RCZ stays faithful to the gorgeous concept car which debuted in late 2008.  That means that the Zagato-style double-bubble roof is still there, the shapely haunches are still there, and it still looks like a concept car with tags on it.

I especially like the up-sweeping belt line past the door shut line; it prevents the RCZ from looking like a current Mitsubishi Eclipse (urgh) from the side.  There are little hints of everything here and there: taillights that look cribbed from the Cayman, offset twin exhaust pipes that are vaguely Mini-esque…  and while that might all sound a bit derivative, I think the end result is absolutely stunning.

Like I mentioned earlier, the RCZ is based on the 308′s architecture, but it’s not exactly the same.  Static ride height is about 20mm lower, the center of gravity is 40mm lower, and the front and rear track widths are wider by 54mm and 72mm, respectively.  This means that compared to the 308, the RCZ should feel more planted and nimble in the corners, which is what you’d expect of a sports coupe.  It retains the 308′s MacPherson strut front suspension setup, and a torsion beam with an anti-roll bar in the rear.

The RCZ’s are going to initially be produced by Magna Steyr in Austria, who specialized in producing low-volume cars for large automakers – economies of scale and all that.

At launch, the RCZ will be available with a choice of three engines – two gas and one diesel.  The most powerful is the 1.6 “THP” motor, which is shared in part with the Mini Cooper S.  It’s a modern twin-cam 16v motor with direct injection, a twin-scroll turbocharger, and a standard 6-speed manual transmission.  Power output is a healthy 200bhp@5,000rpm, with a torque output of 188lb-ft at a super-low 1,700 rpm.  Additionally, this engine permits “overboost” under certain conditions, which bumps torque output up to 203lb-ft for brief periods of time.

These are especially impressive numbers for a 1.6L gas engine,  considering it meets or exceeds the stringent Euro 5 emissions standards.  Performance is not bad: 0-100km/h in 7.6 seconds, but more impressive is the in-gear passing power.  Peugeot quotes an 80-120km/h time of 6.5 seconds in fifth gear. From 1.6L!  Fuel economy with the 200bhp unit will be somewhere near 33 US MPG combined, with low emissions to boot – 165g/km.

The base gas engine is another variation of the 1.6L I4, still DI and turbocharged, with 156bhp@5,800 rpm and 177lb-ft of torque@1,400 rpm.  Fuel mileage is remarkably similar to the higher-output gas engine, at 34.1 US MPG, but this engine is available with manual and automatic transmissions.

Finally, there’s a 2.0L diesel available, and honestly it sounds to me like the one to go for.  Power output is slightly higher than the base gas engine – 163bhp@3,750rpm – but it torques out 251lb-ft at only 2,000rpm.  Only available with a six-speed manual, the 2.0L diesel returns impressive economy – 43.6 US MPG combined sounds pretty good to me.

Electronic and safety goodies include standard four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with ABS and defeatable ESP, as well as Hill Assist, which helps people who aren’t very good with manual transmissions get started easier on an incline.  Hmm.

The build process of the RCZ allows for a large degree of customization.  You can pick from a multitude of 18 or 19″ wheels (why does everyone like to put huge wheels on small cars?  It doesn’t help!), a carbon-fibre roof(!) is available, and like the old Saturn Ion, you can pick different colors for the roof “arches” to suit your tastes.  There are also black-lacquered front body panels, available carbon fiber mirror covers, and who knows what else.

It’s pretty practical, for a swoopy coupe.  Although Peugeot admits the rear seats are for “occasional” use, they are sculpted and can apparently accommodate adults – although it looks like a lack of a head is a prerequisite for sitting in the back.  With the seats folded flat, the RCZ is pretty capacious: 384L is a lot of space for your junk.

The rest of the interior is pretty much standard 308 fare, but constructed using classier materials – hand stitched leather, etc.  Honestly, it’s not bad looking at all.

The RCZ is set to go on sale in Europe during the spring of 2010, and I think that it’ll prove to be a home run for the French brand.  In dark times like these, we need sexy cars with turbocharged engines – but we also need them to be reasonably priced, efficient, and useful.  It sounds like the RCZ checks all these boxes, as well as the “Why don’t we get this in the USA?” box.  The RCZ’s official debut is set for the Frankfurt show this fall, so keep your eyes peeled.