FIVE-SPEED VERSION OF PEUGEOT FLAGSHIP ON SALE
A five-speed manual version of the stunning 406 Coupé has been added to Peugeot's Australian model range.
According to Shane Priest, Managing Director of Peugeot Concessionaires Australia (PCA), "The addition of a manual version of the 406 Coupé adds a sharper sporting edge and broadens the appeal of Peugeot's luxury flagship."
He adds, "In its first 12 months on sale demand for the Coupé has exceeded expectations. The first shipment of manuals is already spoken for and we're contemplating a three to four month waiting list on the new model".
Powered by a 3.0-litre, quad-cam, 24-valve, V6 engine producing 144 kW, the manual Coupé delivers dynamic performance to match its breathtaking looks.
The final configuration of the 60º (ES9 J4) engine owes much to Peugeot's motorsport experience with V-engines in the dual Le Mans winning 905 sports car and more recently Formula One.
Sprinting from rest to 100 km/h in just 7.9 seconds the 406 Coupé manual delivers superb dynamics and full four-seat comfort combined with a luxurious specification.
LUXURY SPECIFICATION
At $76,500 the 406 Coupé manual shares the four-speed automatic's ($79,000) standard equipment list which includes climate-control air-conditioning, full leather trim, dual airbags, ABS anti-lock brakes, remote central-locking, automatic rain-sensing windscreen wiper system, electric windows and cruise control.
The heated front seats are electrically adjustable with two memory positions on the driver's side, the eight speaker CD stereo includes a multi-disc boot-mounted stacker unit and the internal rear view mirror incorporates a night time auto-dipping function.
As well the Coupé features unique design 16-inch alloy wheels shod with high-performance (Z-rated) tyres, front and rear fog lights, an engine immobiliser, central locking and auto headlight washers. The only factory option available is an electric (glass) slide and tilt sunroof.
PININFARINA DESIGN
Acclaimed for its striking design, the 406 Coupé is the most recent result of a near 50 year collaboration between Automobiles Peugeot and famous Italian design house Pininfarina. It joins the 306 Cabriolet as the second Pininfarina designed Peugeot in the Australian range.
And for the first time Peugeot has entrusted Pininfarina with responsibility, not only for exterior and interior design but for full industrialisation and production.
For Automobiles Peugeot, which sold just over 1.3 Million vehicles world-wide in 1998, the 406 Coupé is a small volume model, its annual production sitting at around 20,000 units.
As a consequence sales projections at the time of the Coupé's Australian debut (in early 1998) were relatively modest. But thanks to increased production capacity and some determined lobbying by Peugeot in Australia an initial annual forecast of 120 Coupés has been exceeded with 156 sold in the first 12 months on sale.
SUSPENSION, STEERING & BRAKES
The floorpan and running gear of the 406 Coupé is fundamentally the same as its sedan stablemate with a front sub-frame supporting MacPherson-type struts and wishbones. However the body is lowered 12 mm by reducing the spring height and unique 16 inch wheels increase the front track by 16 mm.
The multi-link rear suspension incorporates specially developed damping patterns and spring rates as well as a stiffened upper damper bracket. And a rear track increase of 38 mm comes courtesy of new lower suspension arms and redesigned forged aluminium pivots (as opposed cast iron in the sedan).
The Coupé's rack and pinion steering features variable-rate power-assistance to reduce effort at parking speeds yet deliver optimum accuracy and feel on the open road. The gradual transition from one level of assistance to the other is linked to vehicle speed with computer management controlling the hydraulic system.
The energy absorbing steering column is height adjustable over 35 mm and reach adjustable over 27 mm.
The 406 Coupé's brakes feature big 305 mm ventilated front discs fitted with four piston Brembo calipers and solid 290 mm discs at the rear and fifth generation Bosch ABS anti-lock as standard.
406 COUPÉ TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS
BROSE WINDOW MECHANISM - The frameless (1.3 metre) doors use a sophisticated electronic system to lower the windows slightly to allow easier access, raising them again on closure to ensure complete sealing. To make the doors easier to close each hinge is tilted four degrees towards the vehicle interior.
AUTO-DIPPING REAR VIEW MIRROR - The automatic dipping rear view mirror is an Electrochrome type using two probes, a microcomputer and two mirror plates enclosing a solid gel - integrated in the body of the mirror.
The cell facing the rear of the vehicle detects the presence of a car with its lights on while the cell facing the front measures the intensity of the external light. Using this information the computer makes a calculation (approx one second reaction time) and activates an electrolyte to make the gel rise between the two plates of the mirror gradually darkening the surface.
AUTOMATIC RAIN-SENSITIVE WINDSCREEN WIPERS - This system replaces the intermittent setting with "automatic" on an otherwise standard windscreen wiper stalk. The optical rain sensor at the top of the windscreen, consisting of emitting and receiving diodes, operates on the principle of total light reflection. These diodes measure total light reflection in the thickness of the windscreen.
A beam of light with a known intensity is sent to the receiver by way of four reflections through the thickness of the windscreen to its outer surface. When water droplets touch the glass inside the sensor zone, some of the light is diffracted which modifies the amount of light entering the receiving diode.
The systems' electronics detect this reduction in light quantity and activate the windscreen wiper motor, the whole operation taking about one tenth of a second.
ENGINE IMMOBILISER - A passively armed theft security system built around engine immobilisation is now standard in all Peugeots sold in Australia. The system's transponder (brain) is housed in the ignition key head and the engine's primary ECU is automatically disabled when the key is removed from the ignition lock. No other driver action is required.
On start-up if the key signal is memorised in the system control module an unlocking request is communicated to the engine control unit allowing engine starting. The system components are totally interdependent making an attack on the ignition lock or any other individual part of the ignition system a futile exercise.