Photo: Carwow
Despite what its fans say, Peugeot hasn't had the best of luck with the GTi badge. The sports French hot hatch was only rebranded a few years ago, but is basically obsolete now.
Company bosses have made it pretty clear that the formula for the 270 horsepower 308 GTi won't work from now on due to emissions regulations. As for the smaller 208 GTi, it was either only a soft GT model or nothing at all.
Fortunately, the new generation is already far better adapted for electric powertrains than almost any other small car. And it seems GTi will give way to GTe.
We've talked about the possibility of such a hot hatch on numerous occasions, and Carwow has now published a rendering matching the sporty character of a pocket rocket with tree-hugging electricity. Keep your eyes on the front and you might begin to see a rush of neon-green or styling from the defunct 308 R HYbrid.
Sure, we're going to lose the sound of a free-revving engine and the joy of shifting gears, but an electric hot hatch is a good idea. Not everybody has driven or been in an EV yet, so the 208 GTe would be aspirational. And even an 80 horsepower Zoe can frighten passengers with its instant acceleration, so you can imagine what a 150-200 horsepower car can do.
Renault is reportedly thinking about the same thing, a hot version of the Zoe instead of a Clio RS. The two are actually quite closely related, but the spyshots still hint at another generation of the hot Clio, perhaps powered by a 1.8-liter turbo engine.
That basically leaves you with the Fiesta ST and Polo GTI, both sold choices with 200 horsepower engines. Meanwhile, MINI probably has no interest to push the hatch past the JCW GP, which is still pretty exciting but could cost more than a decent 3 Series.
Fortunately, the new generation is already far better adapted for electric powertrains than almost any other small car. And it seems GTi will give way to GTe.
We've talked about the possibility of such a hot hatch on numerous occasions, and Carwow has now published a rendering matching the sporty character of a pocket rocket with tree-hugging electricity. Keep your eyes on the front and you might begin to see a rush of neon-green or styling from the defunct 308 R HYbrid.
Sure, we're going to lose the sound of a free-revving engine and the joy of shifting gears, but an electric hot hatch is a good idea. Not everybody has driven or been in an EV yet, so the 208 GTe would be aspirational. And even an 80 horsepower Zoe can frighten passengers with its instant acceleration, so you can imagine what a 150-200 horsepower car can do.
Renault is reportedly thinking about the same thing, a hot version of the Zoe instead of a Clio RS. The two are actually quite closely related, but the spyshots still hint at another generation of the hot Clio, perhaps powered by a 1.8-liter turbo engine.
That basically leaves you with the Fiesta ST and Polo GTI, both sold choices with 200 horsepower engines. Meanwhile, MINI probably has no interest to push the hatch past the JCW GP, which is still pretty exciting but could cost more than a decent 3 Series.
Google News