The RCZ is the most exciting peugeot in years

The affordable sports coupe is back. The Frankfurt motor show yielded two examples ready to go toe-to-toe. Meet the Mini Coupe and the Peugeot RCZ.

They share more than a design brief and a likely price-point, too; at the heart of both cars is the same 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, co-designed by Peugeot and BMW.

The two-seater Mini Coupe will get the 1.6 in 208bhp tune, directly from the John Cooper Works. The Coupe (and its roadster sibling) is officially just a concept for now, but it will go into production, with Plant Oxford getting the contract for both variants. BMW’s Mini concepts tend to undergo very few changes on their path to the showroom, too, and however outlandish it might look, everything about the Coupe is very plausible.

Much of the exterior (below the windows, at least) is shared with current Minis, but changes to the upper half have created a radical new look. The windscreen is raked back an extra 16 degrees and the whole car is 51mm lower than its three-door sibling, while that extraordinary roof – inspired by a baseball cap, according to Mini’s design boss – is unlike anything currently in production.

It’s made of aluminium, cutting weight and significantly lowering the car’s centre of gravity, while its shape is said to mould the airflow through the rear spoiler and over the angled back window. With a more sporting chassis too, the Coupe promises to be ‘the most dynamic and agile Mini ever built’.

It will face competition from an unlikely source. Peugeot’s RCZ is the firm’s most exciting model in years; a car this performance-orientated is uncharted ground for Peugeot since the days of the 306 Rallye.

While there’ll be a diesel and possibly a hybrid, the range-topping engine will be that 1.6-litre turbo, but in mildly different 200bhp tune. Peugeot quotes 7.6sec for the 0-100kph sprint, and while there are no performance figures from Mini yet, the Pug is likely to lag behind a little thanks to its power deficit and the potential extra weight from its more practical 2+2 layout.

It’s every bit as stylish as the Mini, though – both have a similarly low 1.36m roof-line, while the RCZ concept’s double-bubble roof remains. There have been a number of suspension tweaks to move the RCZ away from its family hatchback roots, too: the ride height is dropped 20mm, while track widths are up and there’s a new front anti-roll bar.

In a nod to its retro rival, the RCZ’s exterior elements – mirrors, detailing, roof arches and the roof itself – can be personalised in a variety of colours and finishes.

The RCZ goes on sale in Europe in the Spring 2010 and could arrive in the Middle East at a later date. The Mini Coupe is expected to make it into production by 2011.