First official pics: Peugeot 508 revealed

Peugeot provided the first glimpse of what was in store via the "5 by Peugeot" concept unveiled at March's Geneva show, and now the showroom reality (in both sedan and wagon guises) has been unmasked.

These are the first official images of the all-new 508 -- conceived to replace both the 407 and unloved 607 -- when it goes on sale early next year.

The newcomer will make its first public appearance on September 30 at the Paris motor show, but the French carmaker will be pitching the medium-large sedan strongly at the burgeoning Chinese market.

Although official specs aren't yet to hand, it's believed the 508 measures 4.7m from bumper to bumper, which means it's marginally longer than the outgoing 407, but 20mm shorter than the defunct 607 flagship.

Adding to the economies of scale, the 508 shares its architecture with its PSA stablemate, namely the Citroen C5.

The images reveal Peugeot has, on the whole, stayed faithful to the 5 concept, even though the grille and headlights have been toned down appreciably. The production car also makes do with a smaller wheel/tyre package than the 19-inch alloys and liquorice-strip rubber worn by the design study.

Given that a substantial percentage of the 508's sales are expected to come from China, local-spec models will be built at its plant there. Meanwhile, Euro-spec models will be produced in Rennes, France.

Peugeot is yet to come clean with the technical details, but expect the car to be offered with a range of petrol and diesel engines, and the latter will feature Peugeot-Citroen's e-HDi stop-start system.

Also expect a variant of the PSA Group's HYbrid4 technology, which in the 5 concept paired a 120kW 2.0-litre HDi FAP diesel engine (driving the front wheels) with a 27kW electric motor at the rear.

"It ensures both high levels of driving enjoyment and environmental protection -- 200hp (147kW), four-wheel drive and CO2 emissions of 99 g/km or zero in electric mode," said Peugeot of the drivetrain.

Meanwhile, UK's Autocar magazine reports that the svelte 407 Coupe is unlikely to be replaced, but suggests a folding hard-top, four-seat convertible 508 -- in the vein of the Volvo C70 -- may be given the green light.

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