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But the real engine news comes later in the year, when the top 207s arrive with brand-new petrol engines, courtesy of a joint venture with BMW, where they'll go in the next Mini One and Cooper.

They're 1.6s: one a Valvetronic making 115bhp and the other a DI turbo that will be good for 150bhp and 178lb ft. Which is all very well, but note that Pug is calling this version only the GT.

There's more to come for a GTI. We know the Cooper S will get the 1.6-litre turbo boosted to 170bhp (and more from the JCW programme, as sure as eggs is eggs).

Beyond engines and GTIs, the 207 will spread its wings in all the ways you'd expect. I've had a sneaky peek at the out-line of the Coupe-Cabrio and a high-roofed SW. It will keep developing for years, just like the 206 did.

Point of fact, Peugeot people get distinctly shirty if you say this is the replacement for the 206.

Oh no, it's the 'successor', because the 206 is still being put together in eight factories worldwide, and they've only just introduced a (punishingly ugly) saloon version to be made in Iran, of all places.

But you don't. Because the 206 was then. The 207 is now. If five-and-a-half million people bought 206s because they liked what was on the outside, the 207 gives them no reason to part company with Peugeot.

But for anyone who just couldn't stand the idea of the 206's cheapo interior, Welter and his boys and girls have given the 207 something serious to change their minds.

I can't see Welter's retirement being particularly quiet. He'll have more time to spend with screaming Le Mans engines. And I'm guessing the 207 means he'll be getting a pretty fancy carriage clock to put on his race shop shelf.

Read Peugeot 207 Car Review

Peugeot 207 road tests
Peugeot 207 CC GT THP 150 - March 20, 2007
Peugeot 207 1.6 GT Turbo - October 11, 2006