• Exciting 407 Coupé concept strongly hints at the forthcoming 407 Coupé
• Features new V6 HDi engine

An exciting Peugeot 407 Coupé concept car is set to be one of the undoubted stars of next month’s Geneva Motor Show. Known as the ‘407 Coupé Prologue’, it strongly hints at how the forthcoming 407 Coupé will look when it hits the showrooms in early 2006.

The sleek design of this elegant car gives it a purposeful look, building upon the striking design of the 407 saloon and Touring. From a range of proposals, an ‘in-house’ design by the Peugeot Style Centre was chosen, a design that gives the car a powerful, refined and elegant look.

The front of the vehicle consists of a two-piece air intake featuring a chrome-plated grille. The main lights are wide and generously dimensioned, featuring directional headlamps, while additional fog lamps and three side "vents" add purposeful expression to the front of the vehicle.

At the rear, the car features a spoiler integrated into the boot lid that tapers smoothly into each wing while recessed dual chrome-plated exhaust pipes add to the car’s sporting character. Sitting on 19" alloy wheels, the Coupé is a striking and worthy successor to its much admired predecessor, the 406 Coupé.

The stylised interior gives its occupants a true taste of performance and incorporates high quality materials in keeping with the forthcoming production vehicle. This concept car features aluminium with red leather on the fascia panel and, for the seat cushions, finely perforated leather. The centre console has a black lacquer finish. The five-dial instrument panel is reminiscent of the refined world of watch making, with its "chronograph" graduations and "concentric" graphic style.

The 407 Coupé Prologue is powered by a V6 HDi diesel engine featuring a maintenance-free particle emission filter (FAP). It develops a maximum power of 150 kW (in excess of 200 bhp), with a maximum torque of 440 Nm. It is combined with a 6-speed automatic gearbox with a ‘Tiptronic’ sequential control system.

The suspension is directly derived from the standard 407 range with front double wishbones and drop link, and at the rear the latest-generation multi-arm system.

Standard equipment includes directional xenon main headlamps, front and rear parking assistance, laminated side windows and RT3 telematics with a 7-inch, 16/9 colour display.

The 407 Coupé Prologue continues a wonderful heritage of great Peugeot Coupés, a heritage that is represented at the Geneva Show with a design prototype conceived in the 1930s by the renowned engineer Jean Andreau. The Peugeot 402 model – which demonstrated Andreau’s aerodynamic designs – was produced in 1936 and shown to the public in October of that year at the Paris Motor Show.

The Geneva show also provides a platform for Peugeot to show its exciting new small car, the 107, alongside the soon-to-be-launched 1007. Also shown for the first time is a 206 CC featuring the 1.6 litre, HDi diesel engine, a new addition to the 206 CC range that will go on sale in Europe later in the year.