Peugeot 208 2016 News

The Paris motor show hid a treasure trove of other interesting vehicles from the past and present.

Peugeot is intent on adding extra performance mojo to its line-up with more GTI and R variants, and the next one on the drawing board is a 208-R to slot in above the 208 GTI in the hatch range. This will be the fourth of their hi-po push -- they've topped the RCZ coupe with the flagship RCZ-R revealed earlier this year, and are also getting ready to roll out a 308 GTI and a 308-R overseas. And while performance fans will applaud the extra sting in the trail, Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat told industry journal Automotive News it also makes good business sense. "For the Peugeot 208, about 40 percent of sales are for trim levels three and four, which are the two highest; 70 percent of 2008 sales are level three or above," Picat said. "We have special versions such as the 208 GTI. Above the 208 GTI, we will soon have an even sportier 208-R, which is a good example of what we would like to add to top the 308 range. Moving upmarket with special versions of each model line is not very different from what Volkswagen does with its (Golf) GTI/GTD variants." Picat stopped short of details on what would power the Peugeot 208-R, but a good candidate could be the little 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder from the RCZ-R. It would likely be detuned from the 199kW of power and 330Nm of torque, but still have plenty of airspace to come in above the 147kW and 275Nm of the 208 GTI, and use the same slick six-speed manual to deliver drive to the front wheels. The RCZ-R has been confirmed by Peugeot Australia to arrive here early next year, although in fairly limited numbers, with a quota of less than 50 priced around $75,000 -- a sizable step up from the $58,990 of the current three-model range: a 1.6-litre petrol in 147kW/275Nm manual and 115kW/240Nm auto versions, plus a 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre diesel. They're going to be popular with people keen on the sleek sports coupe's 0-100kmh sprint of 5.9 seconds (top speed is limited to 250km/h). We can only hope 208-R will follow, and better the 208 GTI's comparatively relaxed 0-100kmh time of 6.8 seconds, while coming in not too high above its $29,990 price tag. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Penelope Pitstop, Dick Dastardly and Muttley, the Slag Brothers and all the other Whacky Racers  are revived for a fun Peugeot 208 campaign in Brazil.

The path to the summit is tarmac these days, but that doesn't make the race up Pikes Peak any less thrilling or terrifying. In fact, it raises the speeds and increases the potential for danger. That makes it all the more important to have a well-sorted car for the time trial to the sky.Peugeot appears to be well on its path to a sorted and safe race car in the 208 T16, shown in these photos in a "dress rehearsal" test ahead of the race next month.Rather than testing at Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA, which is somewhat remote from Peugeot's home in France, the test was performed along a stretch of road on Mont Ventoux--itself famous for being the location of one of the most gruelling of the Tour de France's stages.Using the last 6km of the mountain's summit road, the 208 T16 tested at rather high altitudes for Europe, but with a peak of 1,909m, even the barren summit is more than 900m below the start of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Its finish line sits at 4,301m, nearly 1500m above the start."Okay, the altitude isn’t as extreme here as it is at Pikes Peak which reaches 4,301m, but it’s a valuable intermediate step," said the team's technical chief Jean-Christophe Pailler. "It allows us to see the differences in the way the engine functions, although we hope to suffer less from altitude-induced power-loss than our rivals because of the turbochargers we have chosen."Even with the elevation disparity, the Peugeot team thinks it has a car that can win. With 653kW on tap, that's not necessarily a cocky mindset. During testing, however, French rally legend Sebastien Loeb said the car is still tricky to drive. "The steering is still very, very responsive, so it can be a little hairy keeping your foot to the floor though the fast portions," said Loeb. "On wide slicks like this and at the sort of speeds I am getting up to, the slightest imperfection in the road surface really unsettles the car."Setup work continues in advance of the Pikes Peak hill climb itself. "The mechanics and engineers need to familiarise themselves with working on the car in real-life conditions. They are getting an increasingly better grasp of how it responds to set-up changes and are analysing the tiniest detail or piece of feedback from Seb to refine its settings. It’s a learning process for everyone," said Pailler.Sections of the actual Pikes Peak course will become available starting June 8 through 16. Practice and qualifying begin during race week, June 24, with the event itself scheduled for June 30.www.motorauthority.com 

Sébastien Loeb, possibly the most competent driver in any field of motorsport (we’re yet to see him in an F1 car, though), goes for his first test drive of Peugeot’s 652 kilowatt 208 T16 Pikes Peak mo

The Peugeot 208 launches here this month, but its long-awaited arrival risks being upstaged Pippa Middleton style by its hotter sibling, the GTi, making a global entrance just behind it.Peugeot has released official images and confirmed details of the 208 GTi in the lead-up to its unveiling at the Paris motor show at the end of September. Looking close to the 208 GTi concept Peugeot rolled out at Geneva motor show a few months ago, the production GTi had a gloss black mesh grille with chrome accents.The accents are echoed at the rear with a black skirt and chrome trapezoid twin tips from a reworked exhaust system that Peugeot says will give an “appealing sound”. A chrome window sill strip and GTI logo tab on each C-pillar salutes the 205 GTi that started Peugeot’s hot hatch reputation – and which the French carmaker promises will be regenerated with the latest iteration.The cabin of the red example in the photos sports a matching theme with red saddle-stitching setting off the black leather and cloth upholstery, flat-bottomed steering wheel, gloss red door grabs and dash accents and red-lit instruments. Emphasising its performance intentions, it features sports seats, drilled aluminium pedals and aluminium gear knob.The production GTi sits on a wider track than the standard 208 – 10mm more at the front and 20mm more at the rear – with 17-in alloys wheels in the flared wheel arches sporting 302mm front and 249mm rear discs cooled by dynamic air intakes. The MacPherson strut front, torsion beam rear suspension has also been tuned and gets tweaked steering and revised suspension with recalibrated shock absorbers, stiffer springs and upgraded cross members.As Carsguide reported in April, the Peugeot 208 GTi will be powered by the 147kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine from the Peugeot RCZ sports coupe (and the PSA cousin Citroen DS3) mated to a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission driving the front wheels. With just 1160kg to flick around, Peugeot says the 208 GTi will hit 100km/h in less than 7.0 seconds, but has not yet confirmed a top speed. Peugeot hasn’t released a fuel economy figure either, but the official CO2 of 145g/km signals somewhere around 6L/100km, and you can guess that’s premium petrol.The Volkswagen Polo GTi is the first rival people will picture against the Peugeot, but it will also face off against the RenaultSport Clio RS200 and Ford Fiesta ST – all three of which it trumps on power and torque. As far as handling goes – and on Australian roads -- we’ll probably have to wait about 12 months until it gets here to find out. 

Hot hatch fans, rejoice. The Peugeot 208 GTi is about to be given the green light, according to a source at the French carmaker’s headquarters. During a visit to the Peugeot-Citroen design centre in Velizy, the source said the 208 GTi would be confirmed for production at Paris motor show in September and go on sale in Europe shortly after. With Peugeot Australia’s current practice of getting cars here about six months after overseas launch, that would mean a showroom appearance here about this time next year. “Given the popularity of hot hatches in Australia, the GTi version of the 208 is something that we would want in our portfolio,” local spokesperson Jaedene Hudson says. “It would not only give a flagship model to 208 range, but also build on the iconic GTi that started life in the form of a 205 and also play a part in re-establishing Peugeot’s performance presence in Australia.” And the man responsible for the 208 GTi concept unveiled at Geneva motor show in March, Peugeot design director Pierre Authier, says there is nothing he would change – or that needs to be changed – to put the car on sale. “Everything you see here on the concept is feasible (for production),” Authier says. “We do this job on a real 208, we just put the design, and everything is very realistic – inside also. So if they said we can go, it will be very quick. If we have a ‘yes’, it takes only some months.” The only thing that could change is the size of the alloy wheels, tipped to shrink from 18-in to 17-in but retain their gunmetal spokes with one picked out in a red accent. Also staying are the sporty cabin fit-out scattered with red accents and the GTi badging on the chrome body tab. The ‘tricolor’ flag accent under the grille thankfully may become an optional extra, offered as a range of national flags. The RCZ-shared 147kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder and six-speed manual in the front-driven show car is also staying, although it may be detuned slightly – possibly saving the full outputs for a special sport edition. The Volkswagen Polo GTi is the first rival people will picture against the Peugeot, but it will also face off against the RenaultSport Clio and Ford Fiesta ST.   “I think if we want to make the legend we have to be different and have to embody the new kind of sportivity, but without being derivative of some of those cars,” Authier says. “It will be sportivity without aggressiveness… much more agility, much more pleasure.” Hot hatch lovers will be hoping the 208 GTi can restore the mojo of the legendary 205 GTi that appeared in 1984 and became a benchmark in the class – much as the overall 205 range also did, gathering a swag of awards that included CAR magazine’s Car of the Decade in 1990. “We know very well our culture and 205 is very important for Peugeot in our history,” Authier says. “When we presented the 208, a lot of people talk to us about the 205 but we really don’t want to make a new 205 when we do the car. “But I think there’s a lot of similarity because the 205 was a new generation of design, it was a revolution. And the 208 is also.”

Peugeot is likely to unveil an ultra-compact SUV at next week’s Beijing motor show, as the logical step on from  the HR1 concept presented at Paris show as an urban adventurer.  Along with the expected 208 GTi, the all-paw baby when put into production will start filling out the 208 range that arrives here in October with three- and five-door bodies. “We have said the volume we are expecting for 208 is 550,000 units per year – and we will not achieve that with just the two body styles we are showing today,” says Peugeot’s world press and external relations manager Marc Bocque. “The ambition of this car is very great and there will be many other silhouettes to come, and I would say to a certain extent very quickly. “The first one will be at the Beijing motor show… there will be an important sign as far as these things are concerned.”  “In Peugeot history we almost never show a concept car in motor shows free of intention.” The vehicle at Beijing will be far from production ready, Peugeot interior designer Adam Bazydlo hints. “You will see my next project at Beijing, but only the exterior. But when you see the interior you will realise why it is my project…” That suggests the SUV will carry the 208’s ‘head-up cluster’, which moves the instruments up from behind the steering wheel onto the top of the dash. Following the pattern of the just-launched 4008, the ultra-compact 2008 will probably have a choice of two- and all-wheel drive, and a similarly wide choice of both petrol and diesel engines. There has been growing interest in similar vehicles – Ford Ecosport and the platform-sharing Nissan Juke and Renault Duster among them. And Bocque believes the 208 platform would be a good candidate for variation. “You can see already that with 208 we have succeeded to have a car with a fantastic architecture,” he says. “There will be different body styles on 208. It will be a family of the same size and quality of 207, 206 and 205... but with some different proposals."  

It arrives in Europe mid year with two distinct body styles; three and five-door with an extensive range of petrol and diesel engines including an all new three cylinder petrol unit and the latest generation of stop & start (e-HDi) diesel engines. Peugeot has rewritten the rule book with 208 with a desire to reinvent the principles on which the success of icons like the 205, 206 and 207 were built and to 're-generate' them. By achieving average CO2 emissions of 34g/km lower than the 207, the 208 takes the lead in its segment. Its latest generation engine technology and the use of the innovative e-HDi micro-hybrid stop & start system on virtually all versions, add to the vehicle's improvements in terms of weight reduction and aerodynamics. The 208 introduces a new range of three cylinder petrol engines, 1.0  and 1.2-litre VTi, which are particularly efficient.  Weight, aerodynamics and of course the PSA Group's technological expertise with innovation in terms of both HDi FAP diesel, VTi and THP petrol engines, are factors which place the 208 as a leader in the segment. The diesel range kicks off with the 1.4 HDi with 50kW/160Nm and a five-speed manual gearbox capable of 3.4-litres/100km. There's a 1.6 turbodiesel too. It's not known what specification 208 will be brought to Australia.