The Peugeot RC is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

built by French automaker

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 introduced at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show.

Design

The RC was a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car shown in two versions. The "Spade" was painted black and featured a 2.0 L naturally aspirated

inline-four A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...

petrol engine. Power was quoted at 181

bhp BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

(133.2 kW). The red "Diamond" was powered by a 2.2L diesel engine that was capable of the same performance but with different driving and ride characteristics. Both variants were equipped with a six-speed sequential gearbox, featured a

carbon-fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

body, ceramic disc brakes, and a 0-60 mph (0–97 km/h) time of 6.0 seconds.

Reception

The bodywork, designed by Peugeot Style Centre, was praised as graceful and imaginative, and has influenced subsequent Peugeot cars. The diesel Diamond was quoted as capable of a fuel economy of 57 mpg (4.1 L/100 km), a very impressive figure for any car with sporting ambitions. The television show BBC Top Gear, not known for its love of diesels, reviewed the Peugeot RC Diamond in 2002 and presenter

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

remarked that it was "possibly the first proper diesel sports car."

Hybrid electric

Peugeot has presented in the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

a new concept hybrid electric sports sedan. Similar to the drivetrain model used in the Chevy Volt, the 2009 Peugeot RC concept promises the ability to run solely off electric power for extended periods, with a hybrid electric powertrain filling in the gaps when extra range is needed The Peugeot RC HYmotion4 includes a electric motor at the front wheels .

References

External links

Specifications and imagesTop Gear episode archive
{{Peugeot RC Sports cars Plug-in hybrid vehicles