What do you get when you cross a French sports coupe and an Italian motorbike? You get something sexy, distinct, and cool, and today that comes in the form of the Peugeot RCZ R Bimota.
The special edition RCZ is born from a collaboration between Peugeot and Italian motorcycle manufacturer Bimota, and it’s inherited some power-to-weight gusto from its two-wheeled contributor.
In ‘R’ guise, the RCZ makes an impressive 270 horsepower from its turbocharged engine. With Bimota enhancements, however, the little 1.6-liter churns out 304 big ponies.
The added power comes via remapped ECU, revamped exhaust system, and a new turbo blow off valve. Until the Bimota edition came along, the standard RCZ R was the French company’s more powerful production car ever.
Given Peugeot’s history in rallying, suspension and brake upgrades are a given. The RCZ R Bimota equips new 4-piston, 380-mm front brakes, and the car has been lowered 10 mm from stock.
The special RCZ looks like a modded-out tuner car, but it’s held together with a beautiful Italian color scheme and quality interior components.
The Italian-inspired look continues inside the cabin, where the steering wheel, door trim, and Alcantara leather-wrapped buckets feature bright red accents. The rear seats have been thrown out as well, making room for padded motorcycle storage and two roof-mounted GoPros.
For more motorcycle/car craziness, revisit the Volkswagen XL Sport from 2014. Branching off from the fuel-sipping XL1, the XL Sports equips the 197-hp V-Twin engine from the Ducati 1199.
Because of its low curb weight (1,962 pounds) and Cd of 0.258, the slippery XL Sport can hit 60 mph from a stop in 5.7 seconds.
