Styling inspired by Onyx concept and
a new modular platform are set to transform Peugeot hatch.
Peugeot’s next 308 will be “very different
from the current car", with a fresh shape that will pitch it more directly
against the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf.
Peugeot product boss Laurent Blanchet told
Autocar that the new car would look more like a conventional hatchback than the
current 308, which he described as being halfway between a saloon and a hatch.
Peugeot’s
next 308
Set to be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor
show in September, the new model will sport a design influenced by the Onyx
concept car, especially at the front. Peugeot design boss Gilles Vidal hinted
that the 308 would use a front end derived from the Onyx, but inspired by the
classic 504 Coupe, too.
It will also be the first Peugeot to use
PSA’s new EMP2 platform. Similar in concept to Volkswagen’s MOB architecture,
it’s of a modular design and intended to be used in PSA’s C and D-segment cars,
which make up more than half of the group’s production. It can employ either
multi-link or torsion beam rear suspension.
Peugeot's
308 eco-friendly drive
Blanchet said the new platform would give
the next 308 a planted, wheel-at-each-comer stance, with shorter overhangs for
a more dynamic appearance. Lower engine mounting positions allow for a more
aggressive, sharper front-end design with a lower bonnet than seen on the
current Peugeot range. The lower stance should also improve the driving
position.
A saving of around 70kg over the current
car will reduce the entry-level model’s weight to around 1300kg.
The name won’t change, as part of Peugeot’s
new strategy to use ‘8’ as the suffix digit in the badges of all of its cars
for existing territories and ‘1’ for models built specifically for developing
markets.
Lightweight titanium tech for Ariel
Ariel is developing a titanium chassis for
its Atom sports car that weighs 40 per cent less than the existing tubular
steel frame and is capable of reducing overall weight by almost eight per cent.
Titanium is incredibly strong but is also
very difficult to fabricate, hence the complicated, argon-filled welding
chamber pictured here.
Ariel is considering either a
limited-production run of lightweight specials using the titanium frame, or
offering it as a range option.
Allied with a naturally aspirated Honda
engine and other light components, total weight could dip below 500kg. Ariel
thinks the experience may benefit future products, perhaps including a
forthcoming motorcycle.
Air tech destined for smaller PSA
hybrids
Peugeot’s clever hybrid system that
replaces batteries with compressed air will power the firm’s cheaper Hybrids
upon its release in 2017.
Hybrid Air, which uses compressed air to
power a hydraulic motor that can drive the wheels with or without the petrol
engine, will be fitted to PSA hybrids costing $20,480-$42,660 - primarily the
208 and 308 models. Costlier cars will use the Hybrid4 system with its diesel
engine.
The simplicity of Hybrid Air, and the fact
that it doesn’t require batteries, means it costs less to produce than a petrol
or diesel hybrid. Peugeot sources say volatile and rising battery costs make it
tricky to produce electric hybrids cheaply.
However, Hybrid Air could be applied in
bigger, pricier cars in the future; its modular design can be used with most
PSA platforms and all of its engines.
Porsche readies Panamera ‘tail-lift'
Imminent revisions to Porsche’s Panamera
will aim to give the sporting saloon a more conventional look.
Much of the work on the revised Panamera,
set to beb launched at April’s Shanghai show, will focus on the car’s rear,
replacing the awkward tailgate, bumper and light design with a more defined
look inspired by the latest Cayman, Boxster and 911.
Porsche insiders have spoken of their
desire to give the Panamera a ‘tail-lift’.
The major engine news will be the
introduction of a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera.
