All About Cars: Peugeot RCZ

The Peugeot RCZ is a sports car manufactured by Peugeot. It has been on sale since May 2010 and is currently available in almost 80 countries.

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.The RCZ has been a commercial success for Peugeot. The 30,000th one came off the assembly line on June 21st, 2011.

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.

There are three engine options for the RCZ, all with a 6-speed manual transmission and automatic available on the lower powered petrol model. The range includes a 1.6 L petrol 156 bhp (116 kW; 158 PS) THP and a higher performance model sharing the Mini Cooper S turbocharged 1.6L engine producing 197 bhp (147 kW; 200 PS) THP engine with gives the THP 200 accleration to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 147 mph (237 km/h). The 2.0L HDI diesel version produces163 bhp (122 kW; 165 PS).