Peugeot does not build many cars like the Peugeot 907: a 2-door coupé (2 seats) with 6.0-litre PSA V12 (petrol), built from 2004 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Gérard Welter / Jean Christophe Bolle Reddat.
How it came about
The Peugeot 907 was a concept car built by Peugeot. Unveiled at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, the car was created by styling chief Gérard Welter and designer Jean Christophe Bolle Reddat to celebrate the closure of the firm’s 40-year-old design centre at La Garenne and the opening of the new centre at Vélizy. It was one of three concepts cars unveiled by Peugeot at the show, alongside the Quark and 1007 RC. Fleet News described this concept as “Peugeot’s answer to Ferrari’s Maranello” prior to the car's reveal. The car was never designed to go into production, but was intended to be a prototype featuring the new design techniques by Peugeot.
The engine is mounted just behind the front wheels, and side exhausts exit behind each of the front wheels. Unlike many concepts, the 907 can be driven like any production car. Under the bonnet, two 3.0-litre V6 engines are combined to form a 500BHP V12. The monocoque body is made of carbon fiber and the car uses a double wishbone suspension all round, while the sequential-shift transmission distributes power to the rear wheels. The arcing windscreen continues upwards to form the roof, while the bonnet has a see-through perspex insert that reveals the engine’s 12 intake trumpets.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 6.0-litre PSA V12 (petrol). Kerb weight is 1400 kg. The gearbox is a 6-speed transaxle rear mounted automated manual (electronically controlled sequential). The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. The wheelbase is 2500 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Mustang, the Hyundai Tucson, the Suzuki Swift. Its Peugeot stablemates include the Peugeot Onyx and the Peugeot Pars.