► New Peugeot E-208 GTi revealed
► Electric hot hatch launches at 2025 Le Mans race
► 276bhp, limited-slip diff and retro wheels
Peugeot’s GTi name makes a valiant return after years of being dormant. This is the new E-208 GTi, the first new high-performance model launched by Peugeot since its Peugeot Sport Engineered days.
And, given the brand’s propensity for hot hatchbacks over the last 40 years, we’re pleased to see the GTi name return to something that isn’t a crossover or SUV. Hurrah for some high-performance common sense. What is completely different, though, is how this GTi is powered – it’s electric.
The new E-208 GTi, unsurprisingly, follows the same sort of recipe used by the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and Abarth 600e. Given it’s on the same platform as those two crossovers, it wouldn’t have taken much for Peugeot to shape it up into a GTi car.
Performance, then, will be familiar if you’ve been paying attention to your Stellantis performance cars. The new E-208 GTi includes a 276bhp electric motor driving the front wheels, good for a 5.7sec 0-62mph sprint and a top speed of 112mph.
The 54kWh battery pack remains the same as the regular E-208, meaning a WLTP range claim of 217 miles.
It’s not just about power, though, as the new E-208 GTi comes with a limited-slip differential and a sports suspension setup ‘with specific hydraulic stops’ that drops the ride height by 30mm. Engineers have also widened the car’s track – 56mm at the front and 27mm at the rear – for a better stance.
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres are wrapped around those, er… interesting new 18-inch wheels. They’re designed to be a bit of a throwback to the pepperpot-style alloys seen on the 205 GTi 1.9, and Peugeot claims they help with brake cooling. Other visual details include beefier wheelarches, flashes of red in the headlights and grille and a fat rear spoiler.
Inside, there are more red details on the i-Cockpit steering wheel, while thickly-bolstered new performance seats come with GTi branding and some retro stitching.
A price and launch date haven’t been revealed yet, but the new GTi will likely be on sale before the end of 2025. Stay tuned.
Jake has been an automotive journalist since 2015, joining CAR as Staff Writer in 2017. With a decade of car news and reviews writing under his belt, he became CAR's Deputy News Editor in 2020 and then News Editor in 2025. Jake's day-to-day role includes co-ordinating CAR's news content across its print, digital and social media channels. When he's not out interviewing an executive, driving a new car for review or on a photoshoot for a CAR feature, he's usually found geeking out on the latest video game, buying yet another pair of wildly-coloured trainers or figuring out where he can put another car-shaped Lego set in his already-full house.
By Jake Groves
CAR's news editor; gamer, trainer freak and serial Lego-ist
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