The recent Peugeot 308 had us smirking at its Pinocchio-esque styling. Okay, we were laughing so much it hurt but then the melancholy set in as we contemplated another famous manufacturer who had lost the styling plot…like Subaru.

So it was refreshing to see the Peugeot 308 RC Z Concept Car press release overnight. Our faith is restored in the fact that at least a handful of people at Peugeot still know how to design a car that is well proportioned and attractive as opposed to just plain odd.

The debut public outing for the 308 RC Z will be at this years Frankfurt Motor Show. The 308 RC Z is powered by Peugeots 1.6-litre THP engine whose design is a result of the collaboration between Peugeot, Citroen and BMW. In standard tune the engine is good for 128Kw but Peugeot have made a few tweaks and the little four-pot now manages a more than respectable 160Kw. Drive is transferred to the wheels via a completely new six-speed gearbox. Fuel consumption is very reasonable with 6.7 litres/100 km in the combined cycle and just 160 g/km of CO2 emissions.

We hope that the 308 RC Z 2+2 doesn’t die at the concept stage. It would be great to see an attractive Peugeot 308 variant make it through to production. It just goes to show that you can take a sows ear and turn it into a silk purse.