Peugeot – Vera Profil [1]

The Peugeot Véra Profil was a research prototype developed by Peugeot, presented as a fully driveable concept at the Frankfurt IAA in 1985, roughly three years after the earlier Véra Plus styling model had been shown at the Paris Motor Show in autumn 1982. It formed part of a fuel-economy research program carried out jointly by PSA's research and development department and the Agence Française pour la Maîtrise de l'Energie, under an agreement signed in July 1981. The Véra Profil was built as a five-door fastback body with seating for four or five occupants, using aluminum and glass-fibre reinforced plastic for weight reduction, and achieved a drag coefficient of 0.22.

The car shared its wheelbase of 247 cm with the Peugeot 309, which was launched in the same season of 1985. Its structure combined aluminum panels for the hood, roof, doors, rear cover and rear floor with plastic material used for the front fenders, intermediate sections, front and rear areas. Thinner-than-usual glass was used for the windshield, and plastics were also applied to components such as headlights and spoilers to save further weight. Aluminum was likewise used for suspension parts and stamped wheels. A specially designed gearbox and clutch reduced weight and friction, with a tall final drive ratio giving 43.7 km/h per 1000 rpm in fifth gear.

Power came from a 1769 cc diesel engine with direct injection, an evolution of the XUD7 unit, featuring helical cylinder head intake ports, valves without deflector, a specific combustion chamber shape and a magnesium cylinder head cover. It produced 50 hp at 4000 rpm and 100 Nm of torque at 2250 rpm. The Véra Profil weighed 790 kg, reached a top speed of 170 km/h, and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 16.8 seconds, with the standing kilometer covered in 37.5 seconds. Fuel consumption was recorded at 2.7 l/100 km at a constant 90 km/h, 3.8 l/100 km at 120 km/h, and 4.8 l/100 km in city driving, giving an average of 3.77 l/100 km; at its top speed of 170 km/h it consumed 6.8 l/100 km. These figures represented an improvement over the earlier Véra 02, which had needed 13.1 seconds to 100 km/h, 35.3 seconds for the standing kilometer, and higher fuel consumption figures of 3.5/5.0/5.2 l/100 km and 9.4 l/100 km at its lower top speed of 157 km/h. The Véra Profil measured 419 cm in length, 164 cm in width and 128.5 cm in height, with a track of 140 cm at the front and 135 cm at the rear.