Peugeot 20Cup

A single-make series is as close to production as the 20Cup is likely to get - but it bodes well for future small Peugeots. The 1.6-litre engine pulls strongly, is smooth and sounds great, while the striking looks preview the 207's styling. Fans of the 205 GTi will have to wait and see if the next Peugeot hot hatch rolls back the years, but the 20Cup suggests the firm is on the right track.

Half motorbike, half roadster. The Peugeot 20Cup is a motoring Minotaur, but unlike many of the concepts we've seen recently, it's no monster! In fact, we reckon the crazy three-wheeler is already one of 2006's most interesting cars - not only because the face hints at the all-new 207 supermini, but as its impressive engineering means it can actually be driven.

The 20Cup is powered by the same engine that will debut in Peugeot's new 207 GTi (revealed in issue 885), plus the next MINI Cooper and Cooper S, making it one of the most important units around. Unveiled at September's Frankfurt Motor Show, the newcomer gets the trademark slanted lights and gaping grille - and a truly unique front three-quarter view. From a distance, it almost looks as if the back has been chopped off a normal car, as the fat rear wheel is hidden by the wide nose.

With no doors, access is tricky. It's like climbing into a Le Mans racer - and this is accentuated by the fact the open cockpit is divided into two. You sit re-clined in your own section with your legs straight ahead, and space is tight.

With the removable steering wheel in place, it's time to fire the engine. Buttons behind the suede rim control the automated sequential transmission.

There's still a clutch pedal, but its short travel makes swift changes on the six-speed gearbox a doddle - yet pulling away requires concentration to avoid an embarrassing false start. Don't be surprised to see a more user-friendly set-up fitted to the 207 GTi, although a conventional manual is also likely. With no space for a dashboard, functions and instruments are controlled by and displayed on a touch-screen in the centre of the wheel. This remains upright what-ever the angle of the wheel, to ensure it's readable - and it makes real sense.

The responsive steering is only let down by its low gearing; armfuls of lock are required to negotiate tight turns. Leave your hands on the wheel during cornering and you risk jamming them between the close-fitting cockpit sides.

There's nothing wrong with the performance, though. Weighing only 580kg, the 170bhp tricycle covers 0-60mph in less than five seconds, and its 293bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio betters that of a Porsche 911 Carrera S. The unit was jointly developed with BMW, and will also feature in future Citroen cars, although it will debut in the 207. It deliv-ers an impressive 240Nm of torque - but the 20Cup's purposeful exhaust note will have to be restrained for production.

Despite the car's appearance, stability is excellent and the firm ride means good handling. However, with 80 per cent of the Lion's weight over the front wheels, negotiating our wet test track required care - as one French journalist discovered to his cost by writing off the second of only two 20Cups made!

It will be rebuilt, and could even be joined by additional examples for use in a one-make racing series. While full production is unlikely, buyers will get to sample the 1.6-litre engine - in varying degrees of tune - in the new 207, due in summer 2007. But with 170bhp and superbike DNA, the 20Cup is one myth we'd love to become a reality.