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RPM TV Website | March 22, 2024

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Peugeot preps hot 308 for Frankfurt

Peugeot 308 R Concept
Adam Schoeman

Peugeot has provided some clues to the direction the performance version of the next-generation 308 could be taking, thanks to the 308 R Concept the French auto maker previewed yesterday.

The concept uses the same high-output 1,6-litre turbocharged engine already installed in the RCZ R coupé, but in the 308 R it has been tuned to produce 200 kW and 330 Nm of torque.

The R Concept is based on the new 308, which has not yet been released, but that that doesn’t mean that Peugeot has left the rest of the R Concept unchanged: nearly ever panel on the car has been replaced with a similar looking carbon-fibre panel.

The changes are extreme and feature new doors, front fenders, sills, bonnet and bumpers. Only the roof and tailgate retain their hefty steel construction. Furthermore, Peugeot has lowered the 308 R Concept by a kerb-biting 26 mm and widened the front track by 30 mm.

Aggressively styled 19-inch wheels, wrapped in 235/35 performance rubber, add drama to each corner of the car, and are accented by oversized 330 mm brake discs and four-piston calipers.

Given the extensive use of carbon fibre and an even more powerful version of the 1,6-litre turbo engine, the 308 R Concept should be extremely fast, and handle just as well. Except we suspect that no one will ever find out, because it is simply too wild to ever be put into production.

Just the cost of building a family-sized hatchback from carbon fibre will be prohibitively expensive, while the extended stance and dramatic drop in ride height all scream ‘Concept Only’.

What it does highlight is Peugeot’s commitment to creating a hot hatch beyond its current 208 GTI, meaning not only that we can expect to see a GTI badge on the new 308 in due course, but also that the car is likely to be more ferocious than the current range’s swift but rather luke-warm 308 GTi.

If Peugeot scales back on the more extreme materials of the 308 R, but keeps the engine and design principles, then we could see a 308 GTI with the stuff to tackle the Golf GTI, and probably at a performance and handling level that is beyond the German icon’s reach.

So, for the time being, we can only appreciate the 308 R Concept for what it is: a fun project for a group for Peugeot engineers, but one that may well lead to a far more committed production reality.

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