New Peugeot 208 GTi aiming to be the next legendary French hot hatch
Stellantis’s UK boss Eurig Druce says Peugeot may go back to hot-hatch roots with sporty 208
The recent demise of the Peugeot 508 PSE has left the French firm without a performance-focused model in its line-up. But there is growing hope that the brand could return to its hot-hatch roots with a faster version of the next Peugeot 208 – and our exclusive images preview how it could look.
Auto Express revealed last year that there will be a hot GSe-badged version of the next Vauxhall Corsa – the sister model to the 208. Both superminis are due to be launched in 2026, and will share parent company Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Auto Express, newly appointed managing director of Stellantis UK, Eurig Druce, suggested the 508 PSE’s retirement doesn’t mean the end of the brand’s performance lineage. “There may be other products in the future,” he told us.
“Peugeot has always had a penchant for fast, small hatchbacks, as we’ve seen various generations of GTis,” he said. “I remember the 205 GTi when I first joined the company. And the 206 GTi thereafter.
“It would be a sad, sad day for us to declare that we will never go there again. I wouldn’t want to see that sad day coming and I don’t think I will.”
Peugeot’s hot hatchback heritage offers plenty of encouragement that the brand may return to this genre for its next performance car – as opposed to a crossover or family SUV. A go-faster version of the next Peugeot 208 would also give the company a rival to the hotly anticipated Alpine A290 and MINI JCW Electric.
We asked Druce directly whether we could see a tuned version of the 208 further on down the line and he admitted: “I’d love to see it, personally. Peugeot Sport engineers would be the people that would do that sort of thing.”
We asked Druce if the PSE badge (which stands for Peugeot Sport Engineered) could return, or whether GTi would make a comeback, but he refused to be drawn either way. However, our exclusive images lean towards the latter; its resonance with fans and nearly 40 years of history would chime well with buyers in both the UK and Europe.
Druce said: “The crucial bit for me is the credibility that came from PSE. So, whether we call it PSE or GTi, the truth about it was that Peugeot Sport had engineered the car and there were significant driveability differences between that and a standard car. I think that’s crucial.”
He continued: “What we cannot ever do is to put a GTi badge on something that is a conventional car with a slightly bigger e-motor, for example. One of the big things about this future market is that almost every electric car can be a quick car.
“The beauty comes from being able to make a fast car and a really enjoyable, driveable car as well.”
Other brands in the Stellantis family have launched their own small fast EVs recently, with the Abarth 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and Lancia Ypsilon HF all based on the same underpinnings as the current 208. They also provide some clues to what kind of performance upgrades a new 208 GTi could receive.
Abarth’s souped-up version of the Fiat 600e, for instance, received a sizeable power boost to produce 237bhp in the standard model, and up to 278bhp in the top-spec version. If the 208 GTi were given a similar amount of power, it would hit 62mph in less than six seconds.
An even more significant addition to the Abarth model is the Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential that improves the car’s agility, traction and handling. The 600e also benefits from stiffer suspension and anti-roll bars, a wider track, a new braking system and liquid cooling for the battery – something Peugeot would probably look to do with any future 208 GTi. There would be some visual changes too, such as a lower ride height, bigger wheels and a subtle bodykit with a couple of GTi badges.
Inside, buyers could expect the car to have contrast stitching and sportier seats – as well as a fresh take on Peugeot’s famous i-Cockpit instrument cluster.
There’s a good chance Peugeot will also look to incorporate a version of the Hypersquare steering wheel expected to feature in the standard 208 when it arrives in 2026.
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