Yes, folks, this is a production-ready Peugeot 308 hot hatch, minus the GTi badges. It was spotted in France completely camouflage-free, hiding in plain sight.
What makes us so sure this is a 308 GTi? Well, the French have announced they will reveal a brand new performance car soon at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The GTi almost didn't happen, since some company officials thought it was a bad idea, financially speaking.
Cosmetically speaking, there are lots of small differences between this and the regular 308. The headlights have been tweaked, probably signaling a facelift is coming soon. A new bumper with large air intakes is connected to a squared-off grille. The suspension has also been lowered by a few millimeters and 19-inch wheels were added, covered in Michelin 235/55 R19 performance tires. Behind them, we see Peugeot Sport brakes with ventilated and drilled rotors.
Extra stopping power is needed when you're dealing with the most powerful version of the 308. The car will undoubtedly be motivated by a hardcore version of the 1.6 THP engine, although output has been rumored at anywhere between 240 and 270 PS.
We expect the only transmission available to be a 6-speed manual, working together with a standard mechanical limited-slip differential.
But the most interesting angle of the 308 GTi we have in these photos, courtesy of Ferd, is the from the back. There, we notice that the hot French hatch has two exhaust pipes that are larger than the ones on a Golf GTI and sit inside a diffuser skirt.
We don't expect the 308 GTi to set new Nurburgring lap records or outperform the hot hatch royalty. However, this is going to be the most impressive car of this type with a 1.6-liter turbo and probably a better everyday car than most of its rivals.
Cosmetically speaking, there are lots of small differences between this and the regular 308. The headlights have been tweaked, probably signaling a facelift is coming soon. A new bumper with large air intakes is connected to a squared-off grille. The suspension has also been lowered by a few millimeters and 19-inch wheels were added, covered in Michelin 235/55 R19 performance tires. Behind them, we see Peugeot Sport brakes with ventilated and drilled rotors.
Extra stopping power is needed when you're dealing with the most powerful version of the 308. The car will undoubtedly be motivated by a hardcore version of the 1.6 THP engine, although output has been rumored at anywhere between 240 and 270 PS.
We expect the only transmission available to be a 6-speed manual, working together with a standard mechanical limited-slip differential.
But the most interesting angle of the 308 GTi we have in these photos, courtesy of Ferd, is the from the back. There, we notice that the hot French hatch has two exhaust pipes that are larger than the ones on a Golf GTI and sit inside a diffuser skirt.
We don't expect the 308 GTi to set new Nurburgring lap records or outperform the hot hatch royalty. However, this is going to be the most impressive car of this type with a 1.6-liter turbo and probably a better everyday car than most of its rivals.