Peugeot RCZ Hybrid looks certain

Despite Peugeot calling it a ‘Concept’, the Peugeot RCZ Hybrid looks set to go in to production.

A couple of weeks ago we reported that Peugeot are bringing a hybrid version of the 3o08 to Frankfurt. No big surprise in that – everyone’s playing the Hybrid game. As an afterthought, Peugeot revealed in the same email that they were also bringing the RCZ Hybrid4 Concept along. Just a concept, they said. No real plans to produce it. Yeah, right.

And that ‘Yeah, right’ has now turned in to a ‘Who are you kidding?’ after Peugeot released information today on the RCZ Hybrid4 that frankly wouldn’t warrant doing unless they were already set on a production model. Not more information than we had a couple of weeks ago, but why bother with a new press release on the Hybrid RCZ when you’d already covered it? Unless you want more coverage because you’re going to make it, that is.

The Peugeot RCZ Hybrid4 will manage to deliver even lower emissions than the 3008 Hybrid. Peugeot reckons it will emit 95g/km because it’s lighter and more aerodynamic than the 3008. It will also deliver somewhere in the region of 200bhp from a combination of a 37bhp motor on the rear axle and the 163bhp turbo-diesel driving the front wheels. With this combination – which can drive the front wheels, all four or even, for short period, just the rear electrically driven wheels – the performance will be very good and the RCZ Hybrid will average over 76mpg.

We’d put money on this being in showrooms before the end of 2010.