New Peugeot boss open to 208 GTI revival

Peugeot is considering reviving the Peugeot 208 GTi as a hot EV, new boss Alain Favey has said.

Favey said bringing the GTi moniker back was “a question I’ve been asking myself very much” since taking over the role of Peugeot CEO from Linda Jackson as part of a wide-reaching Stellantis management shake-up just 10 days ago, 

The GTi badge has not appeared on a 208 since the second-generation car arrived in 2019 and it has not adorned a Peugeot car since the 308 GTi went off sale in 2021.

The Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE) sub-brand was originally expected to fill the GTi gap in Peugeot’s line-up, but it was only ever attached to a variant of the 508 and was effectively killed off in the UK in December following the culling of that model.

But when asked during the brand’s E-Lion Day if there were any plans for an e-208 GTi, Favey said: “I am very eager to connect the Peugeot brand with what it stands for to its past, to its heritage in every sense. 

“So we will look back at what the heritage of the brand is and we will see to what extent this can be adapted to the modern world – and there is nothing excluded in our review of this and certainly not the GTi badge, for sure.”

It would make sense for any hot models to use the same set up as Lancia Ypsilon HF hatch and Abarth’s 600e crossover, with which the e-208 shares its e-CMP platform. Both send 237bhp through their front wheels and use a Torsen limited-slip differential. 

The Abarth 600e is also offered with a 278bhp motor, but this is unlikely to be offered on the smaller e-208, given its positioning.

Giving the green light to an e-208 GTi would also be likely to result in a hot version of the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, given the two models are twinned. 

It remains to be seen whether Peugeot or Vauxhall deems an electric hot hatch to be commercially viable, especially as the Corsa and 208 are expected to be replaced next year by new-generation models based on Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform. 

But given the Abarth 600e proves that the e-CMP platform can comfortably accommodate a more potent front motor and a performance-targeted chassis makeover, hot versions of the 208 and Corsa could be launched as performance swangsongs for the outgoing generation.