A few months ago, I wrote about a concept car which Peugeot showcased at the Geneva Motor Show. It was going to emit small levels of CO2, sip diesel, rather than drink it, and have more power than Ferdinand Piech. Everyone was sceptical as concepts rarely turn out they way they were planned once marketing, accountants and managers have had their way with the car. Well, something funny happened….
ShutterVoice.com reports that Peugeot has unveiled their latest car, the Peugeot 508. It’ll replace the 407 and 607. Peugeot is aiming for the car to have a CO2 emission of 99g/km (the same as a first generation Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion) and a fuel consumption of 3.9l/100km (72mpg, imperial). The car will go on sale next year, 2011, but be officially debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October. The car will use PSA’s HYbrid4 powertrain, which will produce 200bhp and give the car a truly hybrid 4 wheel drive: The ICE will be powering the front two wheels, the electric motor will be spinning the rear two. Sound familiar? It should do. It’s the same powertrain which will power the New Ford Focus RS. In addition to the diesel hybrid powertrain, it will also have an e-HDi Start and Stop system to further aid fuel economy. But before you NA piston heads start salivating all over this car, don’t hold your breath (well, do – it restricts the salivation.) Where doesn’t PSA do business? That’s right, North America. There could be a glimmer of hope. Due to PSA’s close ties with Mitsubishi (insert one of Bertel’s twisted pictures of women tied up), they could licence the technology to close friends. How would a Mitsubishi Eclipse with a HYbrid4 powertrain grab you…?
We know who will definitely get the 508: The Chinese. The Peugeot 508 will make its official debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show this October, will be launched to the European market in the first quarter of next year, and then be introduced to the China market in mid-2011, reports Gasgoo. The car will be be produced in China next year at the Dongfeng-PSA joint venture.
Whatever company builds a hybrid looking like that is gonna make billions.
It’s easy to make a car look good when you don’t need to worry about little things like cost or practicality.
Consider, for example, the first concept Volt, which had no mirrors and was more aerodynamic if driven backwards. Now consider the production Volt, which is a Cruze hatchback with fat chunks of black plastic below the window and econo-car donut tires.
That said, I liked the 407, and I like the way this car is going. I just don’t expect miracles.
I thought the same thing. I also thought, it’s a Peugeot, and, while they’ve made handsome cars, they rarely make sexy cars. So I googled it and the truth is it looks like a slightly more refined Volt.
Once again someone’s version of aerodynamics has spoken. There seems to be 2 schools of thought here: the Citroen DS school and the Prius school. The DS has spawned the EV1 and honda insight. The prius has spawned the prius, volt, and honda whatever that is.
I’ll take the DS
Forget the Eclipse.
Slap a Diamond on the grille and a Diamante badge on the trunk and sell it as-is. Don’t forget the wagon too.
“Bertel’s twisted pictures of women tied up” Mr. Schmitt FTW
There have been rumors of some heresies around:
Diesel STi
Hybrid EVO… and yes the RWD of that EVO would be electric.
If PSA shares the platform with Mitsubishi, it will surely go to the US.
Cammy, remember that this people is also tied with BMW… so either Mitsubishi or BMW could bring this tech across.
And yesterday I read the “first drive” on MT.com for the new Sonata Hybrid. It beat the Camry Hybrid in fuel economy numbers hands down. Looks better also.
I doubt BMW would licence technology from a french car manufacture. My understanding is that they have a tie up on the Mini engine which BMW were the lead designers & PSA the main manufacturers
I always thought that PSA & Mitsubishi tie up made lots of sense – both are too small to survive by themselves, both have gaps in there product lines that the other can help to fill (As has happened with the Outlander) and both have limited overlaps in major markets.
I’d love to see PSA diesel technology in the US (but with Mitsu 5 year warranty)
I highly doubt the BMW had the lead… the engine they “co-developed” is AFAIK based on PSA’s TU family.
What I’ve seen is that power ratings are different between the 2, especially in the higher rated versions. Edge BMW.
Aren’t Peugeots are available in Mexico? Maybe one could be brought in that way.
So the next Focus RS will weigh as much as a Bentley? The current one is already incredibly heavy without the hybrid hardware.
Beautiful concept. Would be nice if the 508 were to actually look exactly like that.
Another concept that should see production (but probably won’t) is BMW’s activehybrid… which is a tiny three-pot diesel mated to twin electric motors giving a total of 400 hp…
The 508 is going to be built in Rennes, where I currently live. My commute to work takes me by the factory. It will be based on the same platform as the current Citroen C5 so the dynamics should be quite similar to what is out already. They will probably have the exact same motors to begin with, and it will get interesting when the 508 finally gets the HyBrid4 drive train.
What’s confusing to me though, is the brand differentiation between Peugeot and Citroen. They both seem to be chasing the same market: Audi. So then, what is PSA’s low cost brand?
Here are some photos of the actual production car: http://www.turbo.fr/actualite-automobile/352282-peugeot-508-photos/
@Virages, thanks for the link. Drooling over concept cars is fine, but usually it’s not realistic to expect them to make it to production as is (although a few exceptions do exist).
That said, the production model is sadly very far away from the concept. It’s not horrible, but it looks closer to a Nissan Maxima than it looks to to the concept.
Apart from the overlapping positioning of Citroen and Peugeot, I also wonder where the Peugeot design DNA disappeared. The new 508 looks very generic, especially in sedan form …
These are all the same figures as PSA were touting on their Hybrid4 models at last year’s Paris Motorshow. So it’s not exactly breaking news. I think this modular hybrid system was principally built by Continental if i remember correctly. PSA were pitching in not so much for it’s green credentials, but on the intelligent 4WD/ active safety angle.
At the show, the battery was just tucked away taking up a big corner of the trunk space. Not exactly conspicuous. I expect the production implementation will be much better.
Stingray – there’s nothing in the relationship between PSA and BMW that would allow them to take this technology and run with it. If anything, they’ve moved a bit further apart recently (BMW chose to abandon the idea of a compact car platform share, rejecting what PSA already had available). Technology innovation is an important aspect of their brand, so buying up second-hand ‘French’ green tech is exactly consistent with that.
I’m rooting for anything that might even possibly bring Peugeot back to the US, I need parts for my 504. Given America’s love of the French, perhaps badging this as a Mitsubishi is a good idea.
More highly fuel-efficient solutions on the market will be a good thing.
However, “Peugeot Laps the Prius” is a little premature. First, Peugeot must sell some, preferably profitably.
Diesel engines, electric motors…what does that make me think of? Oh yeah, this:
http://www.railway-technology.com/contractor_images/helm/1-diesel-locomotive.jpg
Maybe you get a hat like this with it:
http://pics.hoobly.com/full/2A1S6ZYBDCGU1JYMVM.jpg
Diesel electric hybrids remind me of these:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Liebherr_t282_1.jpg