Peugeot plays the four-digit numbers game

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

French carmaker Peugeot is to expand its long-time three-digit badge to include a four-digit identity.

The first vehicle to carry the new badge will be the 1007, a production version of the Sesame lifestyle concept car unveiled at the 2002 Paris motor show.

Peugeot says it decided on the extra "0" in response to the "growing range of products, and with the new expectations of customers and their specific preferences in mind". But the four-digit badge won't replace the three-digit handle. Rather, the new badge is a "new dimension".

Says Peugeot: "To complement its traditional range, Peugeot will be proposing a number of new models. To identify these specific models clearly, Peugeot will assign to these models a number with four digits instead of three, with a double central zero.

"This new development of the numbering system was tested in 2003 with the Peugeot 4002, the winner of the second Peugeot design competition."

Peugeot has used the central "0" to identify its vehicles since 1929, when it unveiled the 201 and patented the 0 in the middle of three digits.

Porsche stumbled on the patent in the early 1960s when it tried to name its new sports car the 901. It changed it to 911.

The three-digit identification system is understood worldwide, says Peugeot.

The first number indicates the family to which the vehicle belongs, its size in the range. The third figure indicates the generation of the model. The second digit links the two, says Peugeot.

Said the carmaker's chief executive Frederic Saint-Geours: "For each family of models, we apply a strategy which is like a daisy flower, surrounded by individual petals.

"Therefore, around a central model, we mimic the individual petals. This system, already applied to the 206, 307 and 407, is simple and clear."

The new 407, the replacement for the 406, is expected to go on sale in New Zealand in August, powered by a choice of three engines - two petrol and one turbo-diesel.

The entry-level petrol model will use a four-cylinder 2.2-litre unit instead of the existing 2-litre.

The more powerful engine will likely push up the cost of the base model 407 by roughly $5000 over the $43,990 list price for the outgoing 406.

A Peugeot spokesperson said that pricing for the 407 range was yet to be finalised but the entry-level model would be in the "high 40s".