In recent years, like the lion that serves as their coat of arms, Peugeots have been equipped with “claws” and “fangs”. A signature that is about to become even more striking thanks to the arrival of a triple row of diodes, already seen on the 9X8 endurance hypercar.
Par
Johann Leblanc
Published on 21/08/2022 – 11:20
While remaining faithful to the claws and fangs, the style of the front lighting of the Peugeot is about to undergo a significant change from the restyling of the 208 and 508 in 2023.
Didier Ric
Since the advent of diodes, the “light signature” has become one of the great hobbies of automotive designers. Peugeot took the opportunity to strengthen ties with its favorite animal, the lion. Like the king of animals, the brand’s models are equipped with “claws” and “fangs”. An aesthetic choice whose beginnings can already be found in 2014, in the shields of the 508 RXH adventurer break. But it is the Instinct concept, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, which will truly announce the style of current productions. Launched in September 2018, the second generation of the 508 will share with this study the idea of sporting two thin fangs under the headlights as daytime running lights. An addition which was not necessarily unanimous from the outset, some having deemed that it harmed the elegance of the lines of this family and was a bit “patchy”.
The 9X8 heralds change
This little controversy did not prevent Peugeot to use the same type of gimmick on many other models later, often with success. The second version of the 208 and 2008 will thus use the same principle, while adding three small luminous “claws” in the headlights. What to better echo the taillights, which already sported a signature of the same type for some time. The 3008 and 5008 will also benefit from their major restyling, carried out in the fall of 2020, to adopt these famous “crocs” at the front. While the new 308 and the imminent 408 will simply decline the same theme in a slightly different way. But that styling trait is gearing up for a more dramatic change in 2023. According to our information, there will be no less than three rows of diodes under each of the headlights of the restyled 208 and 508. An idea that motorsport enthusiasts have already been able to discover on the 9X8 endurance hypercar… and which will once again remind some of the daytime running lights of the 2014 508 RXH.
The Matthias Hossan paw soon visible
With this mini-revolution, Peugeot wants in particular to turn the page on the era of Gilles Vidal, its former design director, who left for long-time competitor Renault in 2020. Matthias Hossann, who now heads the style office of the Lion brand, must therefore quickly affix its paw. This will require performing a fairly deep facelift on one 208 who wouldn’t necessarily need it. This city car has been the sales leader in France since the debut of its second generation, far ahead of the Clio 5. But the current 3008 has shown that the Lion manufacturer is not afraid to upset the appearance of one of its bestsellers. For the 508, on the other hand, the opposite problem arises. This time, it is the modest commercial results of the model, and the apparently inexorable decline of its category, which could have pleaded for a minimum restyling. An option a priori rejected by Peugeot, which should thus offer a nice last stand to its long line of family sedans.
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