Peugeot 308 RC Z: Stylish Sports Coupé

Motoring Channel Staff - 31/July/2007

Sochaux, France — Who would have thought that a French car maker would be the first marque to butt heads with the undisputed king of coupé style, the Audi TT?

What you see here is the 308 RC Z concept car, which sits alongside the new 308 hatchback on the Peugeot stand at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Not troubled by the likeness between the TT and its new concept, Peugeot will no doubt be keen to gauge the levels of interest garnered from the show-room floor when the car is unveiled, but also from the various press reports hitting the net today.

And if the consensus is positive, the Audi TT may have a some retro coupé competition in the new decade if the project is green lit for production.

Peugeot has it's eye on the TT - it only takes one look at the car to see this. Yet the 308 RC Z has many similarities with the Audi TT, beyond the visual. The feather-weight vehicle weighs just 1200kg, and with its centralised mass should provide very positive handling, just like the TT. 

The low weight comes from the use of expensive materials such as "numerous aluminium components", the inclusion of a polycarbonate rear windscreen and "a large number of carbon fibre body parts" according to the French automaker.

Power for the new 308 RC Z concept comes from the 1.6-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder motor developed in conjunction with BMW. However, Peugeot has made changes to the small engine, which result in increased power output - rising from 128kW (175hp) to 160kW (218hp).

Changes to the engine management software result in the improved power, which allows the 1200kg front-wheel drive vehicle to accelerate from rest to 100km/h in just 7.0 seconds. This is made all the more impressive when the engine's efficient nature comes to light: Peugeot claims a combined fuel consumption rate of 6.7 litres/100km, and with just 160g/km of CO2 emissions.

The engine also generates more torque than usual, up from 240Nm to 280Nm, and with an overboost function can reach 300Nm. Not bad from a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Coupled with a completely new 6-speed manual gearbox, the 308 RC Z has a top speed of 235km/h.

"The 308 RC Z concept car is a new Peugeot interpretation of driving pleasure," reads the statement released by Peugeot. It's a no-compromise sports car, a 2+2 coupé that aims to satisfy on an aesthetic as well as a performance level.

With a strong resemblance to the new 308, this concept car takes the overall style, lowers the roof, extends the front and rear ends (a lot at the rear!), pushes the wheels out wide and includes new front and rear end designs.

In a nutshell, it's a very attractive looking French car.

"Visually, the fluidity of the design is further enhanced by the way the large tinted front windscreen, the carbon fibre roof panel and the polycarbonate tinted rear window are combined together," reads the Peugeot statement, adding that the "feline-like" headlight designs extend boldly along the wheel arches and towards the hood.

Signifying it's sports car attitude, the lower front apron has a "sharper and sportier shape" than the 308 hatch models, comprising a large single air intake flanked by aggressively styled vertical front fog lamps. The roof of the car also presents an interesting design feature, where the 'double bubble' shape of the rear window required the use of polycarbonate instead of glass and according to Peugeot this shape improves aerodynamics.

Sitting on 19-inch alloy rims, shod with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tyres measuring 245/40 R19, the 308 RC Z concept makes a very strong visual impression.

Peugeot also wants the car to be an involving driver's machine, and features lightweight front suspension made of aluminium to reduce unsprung weight. The rear suspension of the vehicle is "derived from the hatchback, consists of a torsion-beam, two rear suspension arms and an integral anti-roll bar". 

This component sharing between the 308 hatch and this new concept car suggests plans to develop the 308 RC Z may have been incorporated early into the design to streamline the process from show-car to road-car. Comments like "Peugeot’s designers do everything they can to make their dreams become a reality and leave nothing to chance," are further evidence that the company would at least 'like' to build the car if demand is there.

Compared to the 308 hatch, the RC Z concept has a 59mm wider track and gets huge 360mm diameter ventilated discs coupled to 4-pot calipers at the front axle. It's also been outfitted with a number of safety features, least of which is the Lane Departure Warning System. Directional xenon headlamps make the cut, as well as Peugeot's advanced emergency telematics system.

The interior of the concept car also appears to have mimicked some of the Audi TT's elements, particularly the ultra-sporty luxury buckets seats. With polished aluminium eyelets and leather finish, the seats look sensational. According to Peugeot, the fascia panel in 308 RC Z concept car has been taken directly from the hatchback, though it has been trimmed in leather to add a touch of class. 

Peugeot has made no plans to commit to a production version of the 308 RC Z, but there are signs that point towards a possible production model. Watch this space.

The new concept car made its world-wide debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

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