Peugeot RCZ Awarded the red dot 'best of the best' Award 2010

SYDNEY – May 27, 2010: THE eagerly-awaited Peugeot RCZ sports coupe has won the 'red dot: best of the best 2010' award for outstanding design quality in the automotive category. This red dot award follows the Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2009 award, given to the Peugeot RCZ at the prestigious 25th International Automobile Festival earlier this year. The Peugeot RCZ was selected from votes cast by over 100,000 internet users in 62 different countries around the world. It is the fourth time Peugeot has won this prestigious award.

The “red dot: best of the best” is awarded for pioneering design and the highest award in the “red dot award: product design” category. Only the best products receive this prize. Every year thousands of applicants bid for the sought after quality seal which is the red dot as by winning this, levels the focus squarely on the product on an international scale.

The red dot label is a worldwide recognised quality seal for outstanding design and the red dot design award’s jury (consisting of thirty international experts) guarantee an objective and fair comparison of all entered products.

The submissions are evaluated according to the highest standards. The adjudication process follows a canon of strict criteria, which is constantly adapted to the latest findings in formal, technical, manufacturing, societal, industrial and ecological requirements. These criteria provide a guiding framework, which is filled in individually by each juror and include:

Degree of innovation; is the product new in itself or does it supplement an existing product with a new, desirable quality?

Functionality; does the product fulfil all requirements of handling, usability, safety, and maintenance, and does the manual explain its use in a comprehensible way?

Ergonomics; is the product adapted appropriately to the physical and, if necessary, psychic conditions of the user?

Self-explanatory quality; what does the product convey about its purpose and use without knowing the manual?

Formal quality; how is the form related to the function? Ecological compatibility; are materials, material costs, manufacturing technology and energy consumption in an appropriate proportion to the product utility? To what extent have disposal problems and recycling issues been considered?

Durability; have the product’s material, formal, and non-material value been designed for a long life-span?

Symbolic and emotional content; what does the product offer the user beyond its immediate practical purpose in terms of sensual quality, possibilities of a playful use or emotional attachment?

Product periphery; how is the product as part of a system integrated into the system environment?

Far more than a concept car transformed into reality, the RCZ marks a new era in the history of Peugeot’s sports cars. This 2+2 coupé boasts an expressive, energetic styling, its most characteristic features being the double bubble roof and rear window, and the two aluminium arches. The distinctively styled interior places the driver in a sporty and subtly superior surroundings, ideal for enjoying the roadholding qualities of the RCZ to its fullest.

The Peugeot RCZ will be launched in Australia in Q3 of 2010.