Peugeot Wants To Remind Us Of Its Hot-Hatch Greatness With The e-208 GTi

One of Peugeot’s most beloved model lines is getting resurrected for an electric era. The company confirmed it was developing an e-208 hot hatch that will wear the company’s vaunted GTi nameplate last used on the 2021 308 GTi. Although unrelated to the differently capitalized Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Peugeot trim has essentially held the same mission in its history: Turn adequate passenger cars into fun and frisky performance machines. And with the forthcoming e-208 GTi, that eager-puppy performance will come in an all-electric package, reportedly based on the Fiat 600e Abarth.

Stellantis DNA Should Make The e-208 GTi Very Snappy

The Peugeot e-208 GTi will likely take the same form factor as the existing electric car. Based on the combustion-engine 208, the e-208 is a decidedly compact five-door hatch, measuring just 159.6 inches long overall and riding on a 100.0-inch wheelbase. Currently, Peugeot offers the city EV with two different powertrains: either a 156-horsepower front electric motor paired to a 51-kilowatt-hour battery or a 136-hp motor that uses a 50-kWh pack. However, according to Carscoops, the GTi variant will borrow powertrain components from its Stellantis corporate cousin, the Fiat 600e Abarth.

If that’s the case, then the motor will roughly double the output of the base e-208, kicking 280 hp to the front wheels with juice coming from a 54-kWh battery. Since the Peugeot is about 5 inches shorter than the Abarth and rides on a slightly shorter wheelbase, it should also weigh less, yielding a faster 0-60 time than the 5.9 seconds Fiat claims for its EV. That’s relatively blitzing performance for a subcompact car, beating out the similarly sized, internal combustion Volkswagen Polo GTI by about a second. The e-208 GTi will be the French automaker’s first performance-oriented electric car and the first high-performance 208 since the previous-generation hot hatch died in 2016.

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Peugeot Will Consider An Internal-Combustion 208 GTi

What’s more, the automaker is reportedly open to developing a higher-performance GTi trim based on the gas-powered 208 subcompact hatch. Alain Favey, CEO of the Peugeot brand, said that the company will start with the e-208 EV as it develops GTi variants, but if customers demand it, a sportier internal-combustion 208 could be on the table. Favey said that there are no current plans for such a product, but it could be possible if enough people raise their hands for one. The GTi family might also grow to include the larger e-308 five-door hatch and maybe even the e-2008, e-3008, and e-5008 crossovers.

That would be a real successor to the original 205 GTi, which debuted in 1984 and instantly put Peugeot on the radar of driving enthusiasts worldwide. The 205 GTi’s fuel-injected 1.6-liter engine made a pithy 105 hp, punting the little hatch to 60 miles per hour in about 8.5 seconds – very quick for the time and still pretty snappy today. A later update to the 1.6 brought an extra 10 horses to the party, and eventually, a 130-hp 1.9-liter four-cylinder became the GTi’s heart and soul. Alongside the aforementioned VW and a handful of Renault, Ford, and Honda products, the Peugeot 205 GTi helped hot hatches become the vehicle of choice for those who prioritize dirtbag fun and squeaky-clean practicality in equal measure.

Source: Carscoops