The Audi TT is frequently remembered as the ultimate small coupe style leader, especially from Europe. It even looked good enough that you could forget that it was a close cousin to the VW Golf. Less known is Peugeot’s answer to the stylish, premium sports coupe question. It was called the RCZ, and it was even more bold, if maybe not as flawlessly handsome as the Audi, with its shark nose and double-bubble rear glass.
Also, just like how Audi has created a spiritual successor to the TT with its Concept C, Peugeot has done the same with the RCZ Vision.
2011 Peugeot RCZ Black Front Angled ViewPeugeot
The RCZ Has Never Looked This Good
As amazing as the original RCZ’s wide hips, bubbly rear window, and gracefully arcing roof looked, it wasn’t perfect. The front end was always a bit odd. When it first launched, it had a wide, smiling grille, with a slightly bulbous beak hanging over it. It was an iteration of Peugeot’s corporate grille, and it didn’t seem quite as thoughtfully designed. The refreshed version got rid of the nose and grin in favor of a smaller main grille, but it looked even more smiley.
Peugeot
The third time is clearly the charm with the RCZ Vision. The front end looks more broad and lean. It features a new version of Peugeot’s three-claw lighting motif that’s more horizontal and blends into a faux grille made of accent lights. The front overhang looks less prominent, too, and the hood sits below the tops of the arching fenders, making it look even more athletic.
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept from the front three-quarter anglePeugeot
Despite how the front fender rises even higher relative to the hood on the Vision, the bulging fenders seem less prominent on this concept. They’re blended into the rest of the body more, rather than the clearly dilineated ones of the original coupes. It looks less outrageous, but more elegant. The way the body tucks in toward the side sills also gives it a more taut shape. The contrasting roof pillars have returned, but they’re far thinner than before, thus less prominent.
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept from the rear three-quarter anglePeugeot
Peugeot didn’t hold back at the rear, though, which has always been the RCZ’s best angle. The double-bubble rear window is just as huge and striking as ever. The tail is also just as short and curvy. The shorter decklid helps the car look a bit more proportional, and the three light bars for taillights tie the tail to the nose. It’s an amazing evolution of the first car’s design that resolves the awkward bits without losing any of the magic of its predecessor.
It Hasn’t Performed This Well Either
Although the RCZ Vision is very much a concept, it’s more grounded in reality than you might think. Peugeot says it’s built on the new STLA One modular platform that will be appearing on Stellantis products around the world. This particular model is meant to be electric, and would apparently make 500 horsepower. For comparison, the most potent of the old RCZs, the R, topped out at 270 hp. Not only that, but that output would actually put the RCZ Vision in competition with the production Audi Concept C, the TT’s spiritual, electric successor. Small electric motors probably also helped with the shorter overhangs of the concept, plus more interior space (more on that shortly).
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept from the front three-quarter anglePeugeot
The platform and motors would likely be close to production, but what supplies power has a cloudier future. Peugeot says it uses solid-state batteries, along with all the amazing specifications that go with it. Supposedly it would be a 1,000-volt architecture offering an 80% DC fast charge as quickly as 10 minutes. What lends the idea of solid-state batteries some credibility, though, is that they’re purportedly developed with the help of Factorial Energy. Stellantis announced it would be partnering with the American company on solid-state batteries, and it’s not the only one. Hyundai and Mercedes are partners, and the latter has been doing road testing with cars equipped with Factorial batteries.
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept from the rear three-quarter anglePeugeot
Peugeot didn’t give a battery capacity for this concept, though it did give an estimate for range and efficiency. Peugeot claims the RCZ Vision could go as far as 600 kilometers or 373 miles. The efficiency rating is 11.5 kWh per 100 km, or an amazing 5.4 miles per kWh. That’s likely on the generous WLTP test, and would probably be lower in the US, but would still be impressive. Additionally, based on the range and efficiency, we’d estimate the battery capacity at 69 kWh.
What Is Going On Inside?
This is where things get weird, and a bit dissonant to the organic exterior. Everything about the RCZ Vision’s interior is made of rounded rectangles with circles in the corners. The displays are rounded rectangles, The pedals are rounded rectangles. The steering wheel is a rounded rectangle. It is the dominant styling theme, closely followed by airiness and transparency. That comes courtesy of see-through displays and holes in the seats and the bracket that holds the center display. That center display can even shut off to just be a clear panel.
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept interior image showing the dashboardPeugeot
The wheel is the weirdest part, but it’s not entirely new to Peugeot. The automaker first showed this idea way back in 2023 in the Inception concept. It’s made appearances in subsequent Peugeots, and the company has said that it would eventually reach production. For the RCZ Vision, it apparently has the final design for the wheel, which is called the Hypersquare.
Close-up of the Peugeot RCZ Vision concept steering yokePeugeot
It’s even going to show up in the next-generation Peugeot E-208. In case you were curious, Peugeot suggests that it will help you keep your hands on the wheel, since all four of the holes feature controls for the sound system and driving assists (which we also note are on totally conventional steering wheels, too). It will probably work better than we thought in 2023, since Peugeot says the RCZ Vision uses steer-by-wire and can have a super quick ratio, but we’re still skeptical.
Peugeot RCZ Vision concept interior image showing the front seatsPeugeot
Some other final notes on the interior include the fact that the Vision has seating for four. The original also had rear seats, though being an EV with the wheels pushed to the corners, there’s a good chance the rear seats are more useful in the Vision than the old RCZs. On the bracket that holds the infotainment display, Peugeot fitted a clock made by French watch company Serica, and it’s meant to look like the brand’s Parade watch model. Finally, while we have reservations about the steering wheel, we don’t have any with regard to the physical controls in the center console that are machined from aluminum.
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CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Peugeot didn’t say anything about whether the RCZ Vision would become a production car, though the fact that it’s apparently made using a platform that is headed to production, it probably has a decent chance. Of course, since Peugeot doesn’t sell cars here, we won’t get it, but it’s entirely likely that we could get something else with similar specifications, just with styling and branding from Dodge or Chrysler.
We certainly like the idea of a sleek, 500-hp coupe, and we know that the designers at the American Stellantis brands can create some amazing-looking vehicles, so this RCZ has us excited for the future.
