Car Design News test drives the Peugeot 308 RCZ concept
Every now and again Peugeot produces a model that causes a real stir. The 205 GTi was one such car. The 406 coupé another. And the 308 RCZ could be about to follow in their wheel tracks. The sleek 2+2 coupe was first shown at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show where people fell into two camps: they either loved it or hated it. According to Peugeot there were more lovers than haters so five months down the line it looks increasingly likely that the French firm will put the RC Z into production to compete against Volkswagen’s forthcoming Scirocco.
Usually concept cars are fragile articles, designed to be looked at but not touched, let alone driven. If they do have engines they’re usually capable of moving the car at little more than walking pace. The 308 RCZ isn’t one of those. Despite still calling it a concept car, Peugeot has registered this concept and let us test the car on public roads in France.
It’s built on the same underpinnings as a standard 308 hatchback except it’s been widened by 59mm to improve stability through corners. The driving position has been lowered by six centimeters which has allowed Peugeot’s designers to make a car that’s just 1.32m high. The roof might be only 17 centimeters nearer the ground than the regular hatch but the results are stunning: a car that looks long, low and lean.
The detail that immediately demands your attention is the roof. This has been made into a double bubble from carbon fiber in tribute to the 908 Le Mans racer. It then flows into a Perspex rear window where the twin humps continue down to the trunk lid. The good news is that should the car make it into production - and we’re told there’s a very good chance of that happening - this feature will be on the finished model. In fact, styling chief Keith Ryder told us the looks of a finished model wouldn’t be diluted in any respect compared to the concept. He even revealed that Peugeot has worked out how to manufacture the curves of the rear window in glass rather than Perspex and how to incorporate a heated rear window element into that.
The deliciously curved roof rails are made from aluminum and will remain so in the production model. It’s only at either end that things go slightly wrong. At the front the stock Peugeot gaping grille and swept back lights is a love it or hate it affair. And from certain angles the rear deck looks huge and clumsy. Its length does however perform a second function other than to cloak a handy 415 liter trunk: it performs sufficiently well at managing the air flow that Peugeot hasn’t had to sully the lines with a rear spoiler. Bespoke 19-inch wheels, the first of this size on a 308, finish off the look.
The interior will be familiar if you know the 308, yet different at the same time. The dashboard and door inserts are clad in neatly stitched leather. And the center console is covered in piano black. Above it a Bell & Ross clock splits the two circular air vents. The seats are stylish, supportive and comfortable buckets with polished aluminum eyelets. And with a rake and reach adjustable steering wheel you can get a comfortable driving position with the lowered seat giving the gear lever a raised feeling like a touring car racer.
However, there are a couple of letdowns. Having the cigarette lighter on display next to the handbrake looks crude and the steering wheel appears to have been lifted directly from a Partner van. The rear seats meanwhile are pretty pointless, with near vertical backs and no leg room.
But those are trifles. The overall effect is of a sporty coupe that visually at least doesn’t betray its more staid mass production roots. Beneath the bonnet of the concept there’s the same 1.6-liter turbo engine that graces the Mini Cooper S and Peugeot 207 GTi. But in this car power has been boosted to 218bhp. For a price that it’s claimed will start at £19,000 that should make for a fun package.
More importantly for Peugeot, however, it’ll be entering a sector that looks as though it’s about to bloom. Audi has moved its TT upmarket and away from the original model’s Volkswagen Golf basis which leaves just VW with its soon to be unveiled Scirocco as a competitor for the 308 RCZ. And judging by the Renault Clio driver who reversed 500 meters along a road to take a clearer shot of the French firm’s newcomer with his phone’s camera, on looks alone, this Peugeot will be an eye-catching rival.
