Peugeot has injected a little extra pizzazz into the RCZ line up with a new RCZ Red Carbon limited edition. restricted to only 300 examples, of which 200 will be brought to the UK, the RCZ Red Carbon is essentially an RCZ fitted as conventional with a heap of optional equipment.
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Strangely, given its name, the RCZ Red Carbon doesn’t feature any carbon fibre trim or bodywork, and isn’t even restricted to ‘Moroccan Red’ paintwork. ‘Nera Black’ is the other colour available, matching the black-finish front grille, door mirror housings, brake callipers and the roof arches. A matt black finish for the standard-fit 19-inch wheels is also available, while adaptive xenon headlights are also thrown in. The colours and trim are inspired by the high-performance RCZ-R.
Inside, the RCZ Red Carbon jazzes up its cabin with red stitching for the dashboard, steering wheel, and bolstered front seats. The only transmission available for the RCZ Red Carbon is a six-speed manual gearbox, and the shorter RCZ R-spec gearlever is of course given the red stitching treatment as well. Toy-wise, there’s factory-fit sat-nav and Bluetooth connectivity.
Based on the RCZ Sport, three engine options are available for the RCZ Red Carbon. The 156bhp 1.6-litre petrol kicks off the range at £26,000, and there’s a faster 197bhp version for £28,400, dropping the car’s 0-62mph time from 8.3sec to 7.6sec. The only diesel on offer is a 163bhp 2.0-litre, costing £27,850 and capable of a claimed 54.3mpg.
Those figures add up to a £1500 price premium over a regular RCZ for the Red Carbon. However, spec a normal RCZ to the same level and you’d need an extra £2500, so as far as value goes, this is the new RCZ sweet spot.