The Peugeot RCZ is a car designed by French car brand

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

and assembled in Austria by

Magna Steyr Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH & Co KG is an automobile manufacturer based in Graz, Styria, Austria, where its primary manufacturing plant is also located. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of th ...

from 2009 until 2015. It is a

sports coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

with a 2+2 seating layout and a

front-engine, front-wheel-drive In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...

layout. This car was officially presented in 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The RCZ won numerous awards, the most important of which are five times the best sports car award by Diesel Car magazine and the 2010 coupe award by ''Top Gear''.

History

The vehicle was showcased as the 308 RCZ concept car at the 2007

Frankfurt Auto Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs. I ...

. The RCZ was developed as a showcase concept car but after receiving considerable critical acclaim, Peugeot put the RCZ into production, retaining much from the concept. The RCZ has a double-bubble roof inspired by

Zagato Zagato is a Coachbuilder, coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. History The 1910s: Aeronautics Ugo Zagato was an Italians, Italian ...

. The RCZ was formally introduced at the

in 2009 and launched into production late 2009. The vehicle was available in almost 80 countries by 2013. Petrol engines are based on Prince series while diesel is part of the HDi series. The RCZ was developed under code name "T75". The 30,000th RCZ was assembled in June 2011. The 50,000th RCZ was built on

14 February It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the A ...

2013 and was painted red. After a production period of almost six years, the last Peugeot RCZ was assembled in the Magna Steyr Graz plant in September 2015.

Engines

Equipment

The RCZ offered optional electric heated and adjustable seating with driver's memory, leather seats and dashboard and hill assist function. Other options include 19-inch alloy wheels and a JBL sound system. An Elan or Sportif Kit option pack could be selected to change the colour finish of the roof, door mirrors and front grille. While the RCZ has rear seats, they are not large enough for adults to sit comfortably in.

Derivatives

RCZ Hybrid4 Concept

The RCZ Hybrid4 concept was announced with a 2.0 L HDi FAP engine and a electric motor connected to a 6-speed electronically controlled gearbox. The predicted fuel consumption was in mixed cycle, emitting 95 g/km of .

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 producing at 6000 rpm and of torque from 1900-5500 rpm, giving it a specific output of 166 bhp per litre, and making it the most powerful engine of this displacement in any production car at the time. This gave it a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 5.9 seconds, with the top speed limited to . 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 torque steer faced by front-wheel-drive cars. The RCZ R went on sale in January 2014 at £31,995. A total of 3,054 units of the RCZ were manufactured, with 305 brought to the UK.

Special editions

The RCZ Allure is a special edition of the 1.6 THP156 with the 6-speed Tiptronic transmission and 18-inch wheels. The Asphalt is limited edition (500 units) version of the RCZ. It includes 19-inch black and silver alloy wheels, and black leather sport seats. The RCZ Brownstone is a limited edition, available exclusively in Germany, with metallic brown paint and silver racing stripes. Inside, the special version is finished in brown, with Cohiba leather and Alcantara trim. The RCZ Magnetic is available exclusively in the UK, with production limited to 170 units. Models are available in pearlescent black with Flame Red leather sports seats or white with black leather sports seats, with matte black roof arches and a black grille, brake calipers and door mirrors. They also feature a soft touch leather sports steering wheel and a short shift gear lever. The RCZ Raidillon is available in Belgium and Luxembourg with production limited to 55 examples. The colour Guaranja Brown is unique to this version. Inside, the Cohiba Nappa leather and Alcantara upholstery has additional embroidery "Raidillon" lettering in the backrest.

Reception and awards

The Peugeot RCZ received the ''Top Gear'' '2010 Coupe of the Year award, three times in a row the ''Auto Express'' 'Best Coupé of the Year, the ''Auto Express'' readers 'Special Design Award 2010 and the 'Best of the Best Red Dot Award for its design. From 2010 to 2014, the Peugeot RCZ has been awarded five successive times 'Best Sports Car by ''Diesel Car magazine''. According to Ian Robertson, editor of DieselCar: 'The Peugeot RCZ offers a rewarding driving experience, agile handling and a well sorted ride, and frugal diesel power. It really is the icing on the cake for the sexily styled sports coupé'. Matt Saunders of '' Autocar'' compared the RCZ R favorably to its rivals, describing the

Audi TT The Audi TT is a production front-engine, 2-door, 2+2 sports coupé and roadster, manufactured and marketed by Audi from 1998 to 2023 across three generations. For each of its three generations, the TT has been based on consecutive generations ...

as 'dull to drive and quite aged now', and the

Mini Coupé The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-bas ...

JCW 1.6 as 'nowhere near as finessed as the Peugeot.'

Motorsport

A modified version of the RCZ is used in the Peugeot RCZ Racing Cup Italy one make race. The car used is known as the RCZ Peugeot Sport, which features an increased power output from 200 to 250 bhp, uprated brakes and an adjustable rear spoiler amongst standard motorsport preparations such as weight reduction and a roll cage. Racing versions of the RCZ have also competed successfully in the

24 Hours of Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

, claiming class victories with diesel based variants in 2010 and 2011 and with the RCZ Peugeot Sport in 2012.

Sales and production

References

External links

Official Peugeot page

Official UK RCZ website
{{Peugeot timeline 1980 to date RCZ Cars introduced in 2009 2010s cars Coupés Cars of Austria Front-wheel-drive sports cars