No sooner had Peugeot let the cat out of the bag with the pre-Paris Motor Show reveal of its 2013 RCZ, when the French carmaker announces that its standard models will be joined by the hot Peugeot RCZ R – a race-bred 193 kW performance concept.
These days the concept label is often a loose-fitting one that often translates to “remove some brightwork, slot in a workaday interior and there’s the production version”, and it appears that the RCZ R concept will be no exception.
The Peugeot RCZ R is powered by a highly tuned version of PSA’s turbocharged 1,6-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. In this application, the engineers at Peugeot Sport have boosted the power output to 193 kW. Although official performance figures have not yet been divulged, it has already been labelled Peugeot’s most powerful production model (note the proximity of the terms “concept” and “production model” here).
Along with a striking matte black and bronze exterior colour scheme and special body kit, the Peugeot RCZ R also features a more performance-oriented spring/damper set-up, a Torsen limited-slip differential and lightweight alloy wheels.
While the standard 2013 RCZ will find its way here in early 2013, the RCZ R is still under consideration for our market and, if given the green light locally, will only arrive towards late-2013 or early 2014.