Exotic coupé spice… without the price?

Style represented through styling is an important attribute in a personal coupé.  So radical is the styling of this car that, when it was launched in 2010, a passerby in an upmarket sports car asked whether this is a concept car, and didn’t know it had gone into production in this form.

The RCZ offers the owner supercar looks, and looks from supercar owners.  Passing a trendy hotspot where lavish sports cars park outside the establishment to show off, the RCZ attracted pointed fingers and heads turning in unison.

Then, in July 2013, Peugeot swapped out the previous-generation long-headlight pointy-nose with huge lion badge Peugeot styling for the new Peugeot look consisting of the smaller headlights and a bonnet recess with badge inlay, underscored by “Peugeot” lettering and the smaller more chiseled grille, with some LEDs in the bumper.

The radical roof and extended rear stay untouched, save for the same indent to house the lion badge, as these are the biggest talking points.  The roof and rear screen are shaped as a softly-flowing double bubble, inspired by the Zagato car-styling house, creating an extrovertly-styled appearance which wouldn’t look out of place on an exotic supercar. 

Adding to the dramatic effect is the contrasting roof arches, finished in a silver with a tinge of copper.  The cab-forward styling only adds to the supercar-inspired looks.  The boot is for style and luggage space, so might look like it houses the engine (as would a rear/mid-engine supercar) or a folding roof, but doesn’t.

Some people approaching the car didn’t know what it was, and was surprised that it is a Peugeot.  Even 4 years after launch, the rarity value (especially with the new front-end) makes it a stand-out sports coupé.

The RCZ interior sees a steeply-raked centre stack, low roof and low seating position with long doors – for that proper sports car feel.  Some pleasantly upscale touches are the centre-mounted analogue clock and a leather-covered dashboard.  The new navigation infotainment system sits as a separate 18cm screen on the dash-top.  Electrically-adjustable heated front seats with embossed Peugeot emblem add a smart detail.  Rear seats are tiny, and is placed directly under the rear screen.

Unfortunately Peugeot got it totally wrong on the inside, as the curvy roof is sealed off by a fixed headliner – it could have been a panoramic sunroof, with a view through those humps.

A sports coupé also has to excel in the driving experience.  The initial reservations of a 1.6 turbo petrol of 147kW 275Nm were dispelled, as this car is brisk enough, with a rorty sound and enough turbo torque to create a sporty drive.  The 6-speed manual is as one would expect in sports car – not as sloppy as in some other Peugeot manuals – the metal gear knob shifts precisely. 

The September 2014 price is R 524 000 for the manual, while at R 526 500 an automatic with 6-speed and detuned 115kW and 240Nm engine is a softer alternative.  The high-performance Peugeot RCZ R was shown at the 2013 Johannesburg International Motor Show, though it has yet to make its SA debut… if it ever will.

This is possibly the most dramatically-styled coupé in the sub-supercar segment, though competes against the coupé cars from Audi with its TT, MINI with their quirky stylish Coupé, and the hatch-based coupé cars like Opel Astra GTC/OPC, Renault Mégane coupé and Volkswagen Scirocco… but none of these have the super-curvy looks of this Peugeot RCZ.

Exotically stylish coupé spice, without the exotically stylish coupé price.