Before you send in emails that Peugeot isn’t owned by Mahindra, know that Peugeot isn’t Peugeot anymore. Yes, Peugeot Cars is part of the massive French Group PSA with Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall. But Peugeot Motorcycles, the company responsible for a massive gob of small-displacement scooters and mopeds all over Europe and Asia, was purchased by Mahindra in 2019. Lock, stock, the whole lot.
Mahindra had ambitious goals for the Peugeot brand when it took over, announcing that the bike company would introduce seven new models between 2021 and 2023. It had similarly ambitious plans for Indian home-brand Jawa, and that seems to be working out very well. I like when Indian manufacturers have ambitious plans, because the world ends up getting great bikes.
Peugeot usually plays in the 50cc to 500cc market, and this new motorcycle is not likely to be different. According to our friends at RideApart, the new Pug is likely to be a production version of the P2X concept shown at the Paris Auto Show in 2019. It was shown back then in two different variants, a 125cc “roadster” in beautiful stately blue with a terra cotta leather saddle, and a 300cc “cafe racer” that looks a lot more street tracker or standard upright naked than cafe, but c’est la vie. Both engines are water cooled and DOHC, so should offer just enough performance for city riding and looking super cool in a very French way.
It’s not likely that either of these bikes will ever make it to the U.S. market as Peugeot doesn’t even distribute these two-wheeled products over here, but if ever there were a new bike to re-launch a brand in the U.S. it would be that cafe model, perhaps with a 500cc variant of that engine and as small a price tag as feasible. I’d be in line to cop one on the first shipment to our shores.
If those assholes up in Canada get this, I’m going to sneak across the border and buy one to ride back. I’ll find a way to make it legal. Maybe.
If our country ever gets its shit in order and we’re ever allowed to visit civilized countries again, perhaps I can convince Peugeot to loan me one of these glorious machines for a weekend jaunt around Paris. I already love Paris, but riding around that ridiculous city on one of these amazing Peugeots would be nothing short of a dream.
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