Peugeot at Paris

The big three French car makers – Citroen, Peugeot and Renault – are keen to impress at their home fixture, with plenty of world debuts from each of them.

The most impressive of the lot wears a Lion on the front. The Peugeot RC HYmotion4 is a four-door, four-seater with styling in the vein of the Mercedes CLS, and is easily the most stylish car from the brand in a good while. The source of its power is just as appealing.

It’s an electric-petrol hybrid, with a 218bhp 1.6-litre turbo powering the rear wheels and a 95bhp electric motor (complete with lithium-ion batteries) taking care of the front wheels, giving a total of 313bhp when both units work in tandem. They can take the RC to 60mph in 4.4sec and onto 177mph, while emissions are similar to a 1-litre 107 at 109g/km. It’s highly unlikely (sadly) that it’ll slide into production as it is. The technology will no doubt appear, and expect production cars such as the 408 saloon to grab some styling cues from the RC.

Also on display is a concept for a hybrid Le Mans car, the 908 Hy. It’s not racing yet and some recent looks into rule changes for the 24 hour race could see the tech toned-down, but for now the idea of a diesel-electric hybrid that boasts half-decent emissions as well as an inevitable boost in power has to be a good one.