The Peugeot 408 has been sighted again, this time by reader Robaain. He saw this prototype on the North South Expressway yesterday. Like previous sightings, the 408 still seems to be wearing lots of tape camo.
While we’ve seen minimally disguised left hand drive units of the Peugeot 408 on the road before, right hand drive units which are expected to be locally assembled at Naza’s plant in Gurun, Kedah suddenly started to wear lots of tape when they started to go on test.
We’ve also managed to sneak a peek into one of the prototype’s cabin before – it revealed an interior similiar to the 308’s i-cockpit design. The left hand drive 408 for the China market has its own, more conventional dashboard design.
Like previous prototypes, this black 408 wears sporty blade-style five-spoke wheels as opposed to the Chinese-market 408’s multi-spoke items, as well as twin pipes neatly integrated into the rear bumper.
Just like how the outgoing 408 was based on the previous T7 308, this new one shares PSA’s EMP2 underpinnings with the new 308.
The proportions are smarter, and the 2,730 mm wheelbase is 20 mm longer than before. It should be significantly lighter too, if the new 308’s 140 kg savings is anything to go by.
It was revealed to us in March that the new 408 could launch sometime in the second half this year. Under the bonnet should sit a direct-injected, turbocharged 1.6 litre THP engine with a six-speed automatic.
