Peugeot launches 207 CC as companies rue wet summer

Selling coupe-cabriolets in the UK during this very wet summer must be like selling snow to the Eskimos.

Let’s hope the weather improves and garage forecourts are not littered with unsold, latest must-have fashion models such as coupe-cabriolets.

The good news is that today’s generation of coupe-cabriolets are all the year round cars with weather cheating solid roofs that fold at the touch of a button into the boot section of the car.

So no matter if it is damp, cold and rainy you are still snug inside the car winter or summer. When the sun does shine, push the button and down goes the roof, ideal for topping up the tan or just looking cool.

These new CCs are also more secure so gone are the days when the old fashioned rag-tops with a canvas roof were easy prey for petty criminals armed with a sharp knife intent on stealing your belongings.

So now the company car market likes them as well as private buyers, thanks to the added security features and trendy must-have good looks.

The coupe-cabriolet of course is not a totally new invention. Peugeot, the number one seller of such vehicles worldwide, brought their first vehicle of this type to market in 1934 when the 601 D Eclipse was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show.

And the rest, as we say, is history as more Peugeot models followed and the folding solid roof has been with us since by many more manufacturers. However it was Peugeot again that made this technology affordable with the launch of the 206 CC to the world in the year 2000 and then to the UK in 2001.

Since that time, until the end of 2006, nearly 367,000 206 CCs were sold worldwide, 46,600 of them in the UK. The Peugeot 307 CC was also introduced and presumably next year we will be seeing the 308 CC. Over 500,000 coupe-cabriolets have been sold by Peugeot around the world.

The new 207 CC, which first went on sale in March this year, is only built at Peugeot’s Madrid factory and production is around 330 units a day with the minimum sales target this year for Europe being 50,000 vehicles.

In the UK it is expected that 207 CC sales in a full year should be in excess of 6,000 units and 88% of customers will opt for petrol power with the 1.6-litre non-turbocharged 120bhp unit being the best selling engine. The range also consists of a 1.6-litre turbocharged 150bhp petrol engine and a 1.6-litre HDi turbodiesel, 110bhp unit.

Both petrol engines are produced by Peugeot in conjunction with BMW and are similar to those used in the second generation MINI. The diesel unit comes from PSA. All engines are used in conjunction with a 5-speed manual transmission but the 1.6-litre non-turbo petrol engine has an automatic transmission option available costing an extra £1,000.

The 207 CC is available with two levels of trim, Sport and GT with Sport taking 80% of sales. Prices start at £14,795 for 1.6-litre 120 Sport, the expected best selling version, and rise to £17,107 for the 1.6-litre HDi 110 GT variant.

There is also a long list of extra cost options ranging from metallic paint to leather trim, a sports pack, electronic stability programme, rear parking sensors, an upgraded sound system, cruise control and satellite navigation.

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