407 2.2 HDi looms

PEUGEOT Automobiles Australia (PAA) is poised to release an affordable performance-orientated turbo-diesel engine in its four-cylinder 407 HDi range.

Powered by a 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged version of the 100kW/320Nm version of the 2.0-litre HDi engine seen in the base 407 diesel range, it produces 125kW and 370Nm.

However, PAA is awaiting the release of a six-speed automatic gearbox version in Europe before it commits to bringing the 407 HDi 2.2 model to Australia.

At last week’s Paris motor show, Peugeot Automobiles CEO Frederic Saint-Geours, announced a stronger commitment to bringing automatic gearbox variants of most models to market sooner.

PAA public relations manager Mathew McAuley added: "We won’t offer any 407 HDi models without the availability of automatic."