A Hybrid That Doesn't Sacrifice Performance

That car staring at you right now is the Peugeot ZR1 concept car, and while it doesn’t have the cartoonish grille openings of a Mazda, it does have quite the little grin to show off to Geneva Motor Show attendees.

Normally, combining that with engineers who are hyping the virtues of a hybrid powertrain would make for a yawn and a turn back to the fantastic 2011 Lotus Elise. But then you see the power numbers.

313 brake horsepower drive all four wheels, with fuel economy at roughly 20.5 km/L. All four wheels steer, too, and that combined with the ability to shunt power to either the front or back makes the ZR1 a worthwhile proposition.

So maybe the hardtop tourer is staring at you with a toothy grin. It’s more like one from the cat that ate the canary, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing the performance bits show up in other models.

The French may not be known for their efficiency as much as, say, ze Germans, but according to the latest reports from across the Pond, Peugeot is reportedly looking at merging two weak product lines into one new sedan. The models in question are the 407 and 607, two saloons that may intrigue from this side of the Atlantic but haven’t exactly been runaway successes with those who can pick them up at their local dealership. As a result, parent company PSA’s new president Philippe Varin has reportedly confirmed that both models will be integrated into one new successor to be called the 508.