RCZ

The Peugeot RCZ was a sports coupé.  It was launched in April 2010 and is available in almost 80 countries as of 2013, but not the US.  It was officially introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2009 and was initially announced as the 308 RCZ concept car at the 2007 Frankfurt show.  It is assembled by Magna Steyr, a subsidiary of Magna International.  Petrol engines are based on Prince platform while diesel is part of the HDi project. RCZ was developed under code name “T75”.

The Peugeot RCZ attained many international awards such as five successive ‘Best Sports Car’ awards from Diesel Car magazine or the Top Gear ‘2010 Coupe of the Year award’.  The 30,000th RCZ came off the assembly line on 21 June 2011. The 50,000th RCZ was built on 14 February 2013 and was painted in Moroccan Red, a new red on the facelifted vehicle.

After a production period of almost six years, the last Peugeot RCZ rolled off the assembly line in the Magna Steyr Graz plant at 18 September 2015.  The RCZ was originally planned as a simple concept car but it received critical acclaim, capturing the imagination of the public and professionals.  Peugeot decided to take the leap from concept to actual car and began production.  The car’s lines and style have remained very close to the original concept so as not to disappoint public opinion; however, a series of changes were made to the central dual exhaust system which was replaced by a dual exhaust to the left of the rear bumper.  The RCZ has double-bubble roof inspired by Zagato.  The RCZ can be specified including features such as electric heated and adjustable seating with driver’s memory, leather seats and dashboard and hill assist function.  Options include 19-inch alloy wheels and a JBL sound system.  An Elan or Sportif Kit option pack can be selected to change the colour finish of the roof, door mirrors and front grille.

RCZ R

In November 2012, Peugeot announced their intention of building a more powerful, performance oriented RCZ.  In July 2013, the first official pictures of the car were released.  The RCZ R has a turbocharged 1.6l engine capable of producing 270bhp (making it the most powerful engine of this displacement in any production car) and 330NM of torque, allowing it a 0-62 time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed limited to 155mph.  It also features uprated 380mm Alcon brakes and suspension, a significantly reduced curb weight and a Torsen front differential, like that found on the mk2 Ford Focus RS, to reduce the inevitable torque steer faced by a front-wheel-drive car with this level of power output.  The RCZ R went on sale in January 2014 at £31,995.