Peugeot makes comeback with elegant designs

Is the Kenyan motorist slowly forgetting the Peugeot brand?

Growing up just after Kenya’s independence, few cars were closely integrated into our lives as the Peugeot.

Whether in the 504 or the 404, we all at one point or the other travelled in this legendary marque.

These models were the symbol of authority, driven extensively by the administration and our parents in equal measure.

That is all in the past now, so let us fast-forward to the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The French have been busy doing more that throwing kisses and taking passport-sized baths.

Looking at the beautiful cars on this page, I could not help but marvel at the elegance of the SR1 concept that made its international debut at this annual show.

Closer home I recently learnt that battle for Marshalls, the long time custodians of the Peugeot brand, has been resolved, and one Kamlesh (read Paul) has landed on his feet, again.

Will he have the magic touch to revive the wounded lion? Judging by the effort going into its design, he has a chance.

According to industry experts and the team at PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second largest auto manufacturer after Volkswagen, this concept is significant for two reasons.

First and most obviously, as a sports car, it hopes to play in the big league.

It is new from the ground up and not a derivative of its siblings from mainstream hatchback or saloon stable.

Second, it is the first in a string of designs we hope to see from Jean-Pierre Ploué, the new head of PSA design and Gilles Vidal now design director of Peugeot.

Under this new team, the SR1 avoids the static gaping yawn we have been served over the last decade.

Voted European Car-of-the-Year three times starting in 1969 with the 504, in 1988 with the 405 and more recently with the 307 in 2002 this brand is indeed a car that has stood the test of time.