Mercedes is currently the undisputed king of the hot hatch segment with its 381 PS 2-liter turbo engine. However, if you're looking for extreme power density, the Peugeot 308 GTi is just as impressive, releasing 270 PS from a tiny 1.6-litter turbo engine.
I still remember the Renault Clio V6 and the Golf R, which needed over 3 liters of displacement to get that much power. But Peugeot has pushed the technology to new heights and are surely going to be rewarded with praise.
For now, there are no reviews available for the angry lion, but we have a couple of official videos that show something all of you want to see. It's the all-important exhaust note, without which no hot hatchback would be complete.
Between the 1.6-liter engine and the back of the car stands a very loud exhaust system, finished with double tips, one for each side of the vehicle.
Many of Peugeot's previous attempts to make a hot hatch have been met with mix results. The smaller 208 GTi was considered by many to be too expensive while the 308 GT pushes some of its "exhaust sounds" through the speakers.
While the 308 GTi is superiors to its ancestors, it's by no means perfect. The high cost of making such a powerful little engine means you will have to pay €37,200 in France for the privilege of ownership. That puts it between the €34,000 Golf GTI and the €42,000 Golf R.
Still, we like that Peugeot have thought of the luxury side of performance, not just what boy racers want.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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