While some automakers are diversifying, others are consolidating. Like Peugeot, for example, which is preparing to replace both the 407 and 607 with an all-new 508. The big sedan is set to debut in a couple of months at the biennial Paris Motor Show, but after spy shots found their way to our desks a couple of weeks ago, this first batch of official-looking images have already leaked their way out and are circulating the interwebs as you read these words.

Previewed by the 5 by Peugeot concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and based on sister-company Citroën’s C5 sedan, the new 508 has appeared in both sedan and wagon formats. Full details will undoubtedly be released sometime in the next couple of months as the Paris salon approaches, but in the meantime Francophiles can check out the images in the gallery below for a closer look. Thanks for the tip, Mono!

Source Autoblog

The stylish Peugeot RCZ was the French automaker’s PSA’s 2007 concept car and it was finally unveiled in Frankfurt 2009.

Some things are worth waiting for. Take the Peugeot RCZ, for example. French auto giant PSA has been talking about putting the RCZ into production since initially unveiling it as a concept car in this very hall back in 2007. And that day has finally arrived with the unveiling of the production-ready coupe here in Frankfurt.

The critics may say the styling is too close to the Audi TT, but to our eyes that’s no bad thing. And while there are certainly some TT-esque design traits coming through, there is plenty to set this apart as uniquely Peugeot. Sporting a Zagato-style double-bubble roof and muscular wheel arches, the RCZ is easily the most stylish French car this side of a Bugatti.

Mechanically, it’s based on the 308 hatchback, but the svelte coupe has dropped the numeric moniker on the road to production. Engines include 1.6-liter turbo fours with 156 or 200 horsepower and a 2-liter turbo diesel with 163 ponies. Also available with the oil-burning mill is a hybrid drivetrain supplemented by a 37-horsepower electric motor that matches the top gas engine’s output while upping the ante with all-wheel-drive and environmental bragging rights. Have a closer look in the gallery below.

Source Autoblog

The small Peugeot BB1 Concept at Frankfurt is oddly designed:

You know what the problem with Smart cars is? Not tough enough! Regardless, meet the Peugeot BB1. Yes, it is the logical result of a one night stand between a Subaru SVX and a Peel 50. What are we talking about? We don’t even know what we’re looking at. Feel free to read a rational account of the Peugeot BB1 at your leisure.

OK fine — our editor is forcing us to tell you some facts about the BB1. Four wheels for sure. And the weirdly curved glass is all tilted forward before eventually morphing into solar panels on the roof. You steer it with moto-style handle bars. No word if you can opt for a set of ape-hangers, but why on earth not? Engine? Hey – it’s a concept, you don’t need no stinking engine. Uh.. oh! There are tiny rear-hinged doors with even tinier roll-down windows. So now you know what happens if you allow French automotive weirdness to go unchecked.

Source Autoblog

Get ready for another shake-up in the family hatchback market – this time from Peugeot.

The company is readying the new 408, and it’s taking a radical approach in a bid to rival the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia.

These exclusive pictures – created with the help of those close to the project – reveal how the car will mix practicality and style in a package inspired by upmarket models such as Audi’s A5. They also show how a fresh emphasis on sporty design will shape future Peugeot models.

The 408 comes hot on the heels of the RC Z coupé, and gets lights inspired by the recent 908 RC Concept, as well as a wedge-like profile and a neat rear wing.

Inside, there will be a big step forward in quality and technology – the head-up display seen on the new 3008 is set to be included.

Under the skin is an all-new chassis, based on that which underpins Citroen’s latest C5. Hydropneumatic suspension and adaptive headlamps are also expected.

A wide range of petrol and diesel engines is likely, while a diesel-electric hybrid model, promising low emissions, is under development, too. The latter is due to appear in 2011.

Source Autoexpress

What do you call a van full of eight Frenchmen? We don’t know either, but Peugeot will soon provide a vehicle that will help whisk your way toward the punchline.

Spy shooters have snagged a long wheelbase version of Peugeot’s 3008 MPV. The not-a-van should offer comfortable accommodations for five plus stuff, or a content quintet joined by a quarrelsome troika in the final row. The LWB 3008 is expected to be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and aside from the extra stretch between the axles, there’s little difference from the regular 3008. PSA hardware is underneath, some pieces being shared with the Citroen C4 Picasso, and since the short-wheelbase 3008 is a handsome wagonycrossoveryvanny thing, a little stretch to the styling shouldn’t hurt.

Source Autoblog

The Peugeot Design Contest 20008 asked designers to create a concept car illustrating how the cities of the future entail environmental awareness, interactive mobility, social harmony, and economic efficiency.

Ying Hui Choo’s Peugeot Blade, designed for ‘pure driving enjoyment’, has a wind turbine attached to the back to charge its electric battery

From telegraph UK