The Porsche Cayman and the Peugeot RCZ may both be assembled by Canadian-Austrian monolith Magna Steyr, but each gazes into the automotive snowglobe from a slightly different angle.

The mid-engined Cayman carries its sporting pretenses on its lapel for all to see. The Peugeot’s FF approach is closer to that of the Audi TT, minus drive to all four patches. That, and a focus on style, is where the paths diverge.

The Peugeot, after a few too many decades of trying to be German (Stockholm Syndrome?), has put readjusted its beret and baguette for its latest car. And the result couldn’t be more French if it were named Jean Claude. To me, there’s nothing quite as refreshing as Frenchness. The RCZ does the whole schtick admirably, at least as well as the Euro market’s other recent Gallic gift: the Citroen DS3.

So just how French is the RCZ? Well, it has the stirring good looks box firmly ticked…

And it has a bit of marketing pizazz to back it up.

Now all it needs is to be 15 years-old so we can import it into Canada.

[via AutoDeux]