Peugeot’s 500-hp RCZ Vision revives the RCZ coupe name with a solid-state battery and 600 km of range

The Peugeot RCZ Vision is a 500-hp electric coupe concept that brings back the name of the RCZ, the two-door Peugeot built from 2009 to 2015. Peugeot showed it for the first time at the 2026 Paris Motor Show. It pairs a solid-state battery with a range target of up to 600 km, or about 373 miles.

It is a concept, though, and Peugeot has not announced any plan to build it. What it does show is where the brand is heading. Several of its ideas, including the square steering wheel, are already confirmed for Peugeot’s next small cars.

The timing also matters. Peugeot shared the Paris stage with a second world premiere, a rally-inspired car called the E-T16. The RCZ Vision, by contrast, is a four-seat road coupe.

What Peugeot says the RCZ Vision is

The Peugeot RCZ Vision from the rear three-quarter
Image Credit: Peugeot

In its Paris show release, Peugeot calls the car a “brand manifesto” and the successor to the 2009–2015 RCZ coupe. It also says the original has become a collector’s car. The new one wears Peugeot’s “Feline Future” design language.

Under the skin, the release lists the Stellantis STLA One platform and a 1,000-volt electrical system. Output is 500 hp. Peugeot also quotes energy use of 11.5 kWh per 100 km, which is the figure behind that 600 km range target.

The solid-state battery behind the Peugeot RCZ Vision

The battery is the headline technology. Peugeot developed its solid-state cells with Factorial Energy, a U.S. company that Stellantis first agreed to work with in 2021, according to CarExpert. Peugeot claims the cells can be safer and cheaper than conventional lithium-ion, with 20 to 50% more range per charge.

The pack is also only 110 mm thick. That, says Carsales, is why the roofline can sit so low. Peugeot also claims a 10 to 80% charge in as little as 10 minutes. However, Peugeot has not given a battery capacity, and it has not confirmed solid-state cells for any production model yet.

Steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and a square wheel

Inside, the driver holds Peugeot’s Hypersquare control, a squared-off steering wheel. According to Carsales, it turns slightly less than one full rotation from lock to lock. By comparison, a normal wheel takes about three. That works because the steering is by wire, with no mechanical link to the front wheels, and the ratio changes with speed.

The brakes are by wire as well, which CarExpert calls a first for Peugeot. Peugeot says the setup makes braking more precise and helps energy recovery. In addition, the cabin has transparent micro-LED displays, a floating center screen angled toward the driver and machined-aluminum controls set in frosted glass. Carsales also lists Level 2++ hands-free driving.

Echoes of the original RCZ

Outside, two features return from the first car. One is the “double-bubble” glass roof. The other is an active rear spoiler. The forged wheels measure 21 inches at the front and 22 inches at the rear, with triangular details that point back to the old RCZ, CarExpert reports.

Unlike the original, the RCZ Vision is meant to carry two adults comfortably in the back, Carsales says. Even so, it keeps the low, wide stance of a proper coupe, with three-claw headlights and taillights and an illuminated RCZ badge.

What the first RCZ was

The first RCZ began as a concept at the 2007 IAA show in Germany, according to the classic-car site Zwischengas. Peugeot presented the production car in 2009 and sold it from 2010. Because no French plant had room, Magna Steyr built it in Austria. It was based on the Peugeot 308 hatchback, CarExpert notes.

The engines ran from diesels up to a 270-hp top model. Production stopped in September 2015, after a light update in January 2013. In just under five and a half years, Peugeot sold more than 67,000 of them, Zwischengas reports.

Will it be built?

For now, no. Peugeot has announced no production plan, no price and no on-sale date for the RCZ Vision. Still, as quoted by Carsales, CEO Alain Favey said “we are setting out our vision with a car firmly focused on the future.”

The car’s parts are another matter. STLA One goes into production under the next E-208 in 2027, Carsales reports. The Hypersquare wheel is also confirmed for that next-generation 208, with the 2008 to follow. Meanwhile, Wallpaper noted that the RCZ Vision appeared in Paris alongside the E-T16 concept, which Peugeot rates at 816 hp. The show ran from October 12 to 18, 2026.

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