Peugeot has pulled out all the stops ahead of its “home” motor show, with teaser shots of what is the most instantly enthralling retro-futurist concept study since Honda unveiled its Urban EV concept a couple of years back.
To be shown off at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, the Peugeot e-LEGEND concept leans heavily on the 1974-era 504 Coupe as a styling start-point and adds lots of contemporary tinsel.
Unlike the mainstream output of the carmaker these days, which tends to be blobby crossover SUVs and the occasionally good hatchback, the e-LEGEND shows off a thoroughly old-school three-box silhouette.
Crisp edges, thin a-pillars (something Honda also did with their similarly-themed archive deep-dive concept) and a throwback grille design are highlights. Inside the cabin, there look to be large infotainment screens mixed with 70s-inspired wood-trim insert panelling. Nice.
When viewed from some angles, it’s only the pinched-in flanks that give the concept car’s game away as a design study generated in the modern era.
Peugeot says the e-LEGEND measures in at exactly the right proportions for a coupe too, perhaps hinting that something akin to this might see the light of a production line one day.
Honda claims the production version of the Urban EV Concept will be here as soon as next year (although whether “here” refers to the Japanese domestic market or global availability remains to be seen). We dearly hope Peugeot may be tempted to do the same with its revitalised coupe concept.
Ferrari? Ugh, how frightfully common ...
All eyes are on the planned SUV, but did you know Ferrari intends to launch 15 new models within the next four years?
That’s like U2 abandoning their “one new album every six or seven years” template and turning into 2000s-era Prince.
But the prancing horse sportscar-ists are dead serious. Of course, some of those “new” models will be generational updates, but there are a heap of new car rumours swirling around Maranello at present that are just too tasty to ignore.
At the low end of the spectrum, Ferrari has confirmed ongoing development of a new V6 petrol-electric hybrid engine. But speculation is rife that it might find its way into the engine bay of a new-generation Dino (as well as an entry-point powerplant for the Portofino cabrio).
A new Dino would be an interesting advent, especially if Ferrari chose to draw from the original 1960s model for body-styling inspiration.
Ferrari plans to hybridise its 488, 488 Spider and 812 Superfast models, as well as add a new mid-engined supercar, which, a spokesperson has already hinted, will “have more performance than a LaFerrari”.
There are also rumours about a so-called entry-level Icona range. Whether these vehicles will even feature the Ferrari badge is unknown. Just what the Italian marque’s idea of an “entry-level” price tag is also open to interpretation right now.
And then there’s this SUV. We know it’s coming, and we know it has the working title of “Project Purosange”. What it will look like and what will power it are anyone’s guess. Perhaps that hybrid V6 we mentioned earlier, matched with the all-wheel drive architecture of the GTC4Lusso?
With all these new models on the market, dedicated Fezza heads won’t be able to rely on the rarity quotient to shore up the value of their prized Italian sportscar much longer.
Aussies say bye-bye Barina
Streuth mate, the flamin’ Barina’s gone. No, not stolen; actually gone. Holden has officially axed its small car staple after 33 years on the showroom floor.
Declining sales in the compact city car segment — amid a host of other issues for the once-mighty car brand — sped the departure along.
Although Holden isn’t giving media any specific answer on what was the straw that broke the hatchback, it says it will continue to supply parts for the model.
Through a succession of badge-engineering deals with Suzuki and GM outliers Opel and Daewoo over the years, the Barina has never actually been a “true” Holden under the skin.
That’s not to say it wasn’t once popular. Suzuki-based MF and Opel-based SB and XC Barinas were the first car for many Australasian learner drivers, as well as supermarket shopping trolleys in a world before aforementioned Suzuki came back with the universe-beating second-gen Swift in 2005.
Now even Holden’s middling Trax outsells Barina in its home market, as the dominance of the crossover compact SUV reigns supreme. Holden’s other small car, the Astra, is also a much better vehicle than the Barina, but overlooked by buyers heading towards Mazda and Hyundai showrooms.
How long therefore, does the Astra have before it faces a similar scenario? As long as Opel’s new owners, Groupe PSA, see value in the brand maintaining a hatchback of its own, we can presume Holden will too.
But for Holden fans, unless it’s a Colorado, it seems the longevity of any nameplate is no longer a given.