Two pictures were taken by Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat of PSA boss Carlos Tavarez (below) during a test run in a test model of the 493bhp 308 R HYbrid earlier this year. At a glance it looks like the ordinary 308 GTi under disguise but don’t be mistaken, under the bonnet of that car is a high performance Hybrid engine.
During interviews at the Shanghai Motor Show Picat stated: “We are quite well developed with the car and we’re now in the process of commercialising it.”
He also describes how Peugeot will be positioned in the future alongside DS and Citroen; “Peugeot is the sporty one. Step by step you’ll see it. The GT-Line and GT models already account for 22% of 308 sales in Europe, then we’ll have another hot model and then maybe the Hybrid R.”
The 308 R HYbrid is not just another concept car that we will never see entering production, in-fact we could be looking at this exact model on our roads in the next two to three years. Assuming Peugeot can develop the figures to commercialise the 308 R HYbrid and stack up the predicted sales.
308 R HYbrid Performance
Lightning quick and eco-friendly perfectly describes the petrol-electric hybrid powertrain under the bonnet. This engine’s power is from a combined 267bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol with two 114bhp electric motors powering each axle giving a total of 493bhp and 538lb ft of torque. This amount of power equates to the car having an impressive 0-62mph sprint time of 4.0 seconds and can rise to a top speed of 155mph. You’ll enjoy all this power and not feel conscious about the emissions as only an impressive 70g/km of CO2 are produced.
Peugeot Sport has given the 308 R HYbrid a high performance sports car exterior including a narrow spoiler at the rear; widened front and rear wheelbases by 80mm and gaping 3D air intakes have been added to the bonnet, front and rear bumpers.
Included in the high performance package are four driving modes which are ZEV, Road, Track and Hot Lap. Inside the cabin you’ll find four sports seats covered by fawn leather and a soft-touch dashboard. The steering wheel is smaller than in the original 308, with paddle controls for the six-speed automatic gearbox and a head-up display behind showing crucial data in the driver’s line of sight.
Expect to see more ultra-sporty Peugeot models like the 308 R HYbrid in future. If you would like to take a look at our current 308 models head on down to Richard Hardie Peugeot at Sunderland, Durham or Ashington.
