Peugeot has unveiled what it says is the world’s first production diesel-electric hybrid crossover utility vehicle.

The 3008 HYbrid 4 sports a 163-horsepower 2.0-liter diesel engine and a 27 kilowatt peak (37 horsepower) electric motor, a combination the French automaker says delivers fuel consumption of 3.8 liters per 100 kilometers. That works out to 61.8 mpg by our math. The diesel hybrid also emits 99 g/km of CO2, lightly more than a Toyota Prius.

Drivers can choose from one of four modes. Auto selects the best mix of diesel and electric power for a given circumstance. Zero emissions is, as the name suggests, all electric power. All wheel drive is just that, with the diesel driving the front wheels and the motor driving the rear. And sport mode makes the shifts in the six-speed slushbox a little faster.

Despite the 4WD mode, there’s no mechanical link between the diesel and electric drivetrains. Peugeot says the parallel architecture provides “optimal efficiency and consistency.” The HYbrid 4 also features stop-start technology. The HYbrid 4 uses a nickel-metal hydride battery pack; it is mounted just before the rear axle. Peugeot did not disclose the size of the pack.

The HYbrid 4 goes on sale in Europe next year; no word on the price, but it’ll be the top-of-the-line model in the 3008 family, so you’re probably looking at $38,000 or so. The drivetrain was designed to fit in other models, including the 508 and RCZ.

Photos: Peugeot. More after the jump.

See Also:

• Peugeot Diesels To Race ‘Round the ‘Ring
• Sleek SR1 Hints At Peugeot’s Future Style
• ‘Electric Peugeot’ Is French for ‘Electric Mitsubishi’
• Peugeot Concept Bike Channels Tron
• Peugeot Extends Diesel’s Dominance of Le Mans
• Peugeot Bringing a Hybrid to Le Mans

The layout of the technical bits:

1. (Green) Electric motor, 27 kilowatts peak, driving the rear wheels.

2. (Gold) Nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

3. (Light blue) Powertrain management unit.

4. (Orange) Stop-start unit.

5. (Brown) Six-speed automatic gearbox.

6. (Dark blue) 2.0-liter diesel engine, 163 horsepower, driving the front wheels.

7. Multi-link rear suspension.

Don’t worry Audi, the diesels Peugeot is bringing to the 24 Hours of The Nurburgring won’t be the same ones that waxed your tail at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The French automaker, determined to show oil-burners aren’t just for the prototype classes in endurance racing, is entering a pair of diesel RCZ cars to race the ‘Ring.

This is the first time Peugeot is participating in the 24 hours of Nürburgring. and the RCZs join a growing list of alt-fuel racers making the rounds of tracks around the world, including the Audi R-series endurance racers, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, those sweet CNG Volkswagen Sciroccos and the 800-horsepower Gumpert Apollo hybrid that ran the 24 Hours of the ‘Ring a few years ago. And then there’s that whole VW Jetta TDI series.

There’s so many teams running alt fuels that alt fuels aren’t very alt anymore.

It just so happens that this year’s running of the 24 Hours of The Nürburgring falls on the weekend Peugeot celebrates its 200th anniversary. The Peugeot RCZ racers will be numbered 200 and 201, as a symbol of the company’s anniversary. One will be raced by a French crew; the other by a German crew.

The RCZ’s are powered by a 2.0 l HDi FAP engine that puts out 200 bhp. They’ll race in the D1T category for cars with diesel engines between 1700 and 2000 CCs.

Peugeot describes the two race teams as “gentlemen drivers” that include Jean-Philippe Peugeot, vice-chairman of the board. Peugeot hopes to use the cars to develop sportier road-going diesels and build some buzz for the RCZ, which makes its European debut this month.

Photo: Peugeot

French automaker Peugeot-Citroen is going nuts for electric vehicles, but rather than building them it will slap its logo on boatloads of Mitsubishis.

The Japanese company has agreed to build 100,000 i-MiEV electric cars for the French company under a contract that runs through 2015, according to Automotive News Europe. It’s a smart move for everyone involved. Beyond helping Mitsubishi boost volume, cut costs and recoup its investment in the electric runabout, the deal allows Peugeot-Citroen to quickly and easily compete against Renault in the electric arena.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is determined to get EVs on the road this year. Nissan promises to have the Leaf EV in showrooms by November, and Renault rolls out an EV next year. Peugeot-Citroen agreed last year to buy 25,000 cars from Mitsubishi, then doubled the order late last year and again in February, according to ANE. The French company wants to sell 25,000 electric vehicles annually, split evenly among its two brands, but hitting that target will take awhile because Mitsubishi is still ramping up battery production. The Japanese company has the capacity to build just 9,000 batteries in the next year.

The Japanese-French EV will be called the Peugeot iOn and the Citroen C-Zero. Although mechanically identical to the iMiEV, they will have restyled bumpers and interiors and “different handling characteristics.” Peugeot-Citroen brand director Jean-Marc Gales told ANE the cars will be available by the end of the year. They’ll cost about 30,000 Euros, which works out to $40,770.

“We are not ruling out fleet sales, but our main target is urban private buyers with a sense of style and the environment,” Gales said.

As for the iMiEV, it’s already on sale for fleet use in Japan. Consumers will be able to buy them starting next month. The car arrives in Europe at the end of the year and in the United States in 2011.

The four-seat iMiEV uses a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery with a claimed range of 100 miles and a recharge time of seven hours when plugged into a 220-volt line. Propulsion comes from a 47 kilowatt (63 horsepower) AC syncronous motor. Top speed is 80 mph.

Photo: Peugeot

While we can usually count on French automakers to present a truly wacky concept at European auto shows, Peugeot instead offered the relatively practical SR1 to attendees of this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Leaving the high concept design exercise to Bertone’s Pandion, the SR1 is an incredibly attractive convertible coupe that reminds us as much of an Aston Martin as it does the classic 504. According to the automaker, the SR1 revisits “great traditions of grand touring cars of the past: a large bonnet, flowing wings and a very low center of gravity.” If it worked for Pininfarina and Sir William Lyons, we think it’ll work for Peugeot.

Though Peugeot calls it a “dream car par excellence,” there’s a very good chance that the brand’s future products will bear more than a passing resemblance to the SR1. “More than ever, the aesthetic traits of this concept show the general design trends of the Marque’s future products, renewing Peugeot’s strong stylistic identity,” the company said. The SR1 also debuts the restyled Peugeot lion, the face of the brand since the 1850s.

The concept has a hybrid drivetrain borrowed from a real-world car: the upcoming 2011 Peugeot 3008. HYbrid4 technology combines a gas engine in the front and an electric engine in the back to achieve about 48 MPG with four wheel drive and over 300 hp on tap, which Peugeot says “offers convincing proof that driving pleasure can be combined with environmental friendliness.”

Main photo courtesy of our friends at Autoblog.nl. All others (after the jum): Peugeot.

Yes, that's a single center rear seat. The SR1 is a 2+1 coupe.