Peugeot’s new 208 is officially out and all we can say so far is that it looks brilliant. For those of you not living in Europe, the 208 is the French brand’s new supermini which will compete against the new Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, and Volkswagen Polo. It is designed from the ground up and is already shaping up to be a serious contender in this crowded segment.
Sales of the new model are about to begin in the next few weeks and Peugeot will offer the vehicle in Access, Active, Allure, GT Line, and GT trims, as well as the zero-emissions e-208. Later during the car’s lifecycle, we will also see a proper hot hatch version carrying the GTi suffix. This exclusive rendering previews the pocket rocket and shows what to expect in terms of design.
Gallery: Peugeot 208 GTi renderings
Probably the most distinctive feature of the 208 GTi envisioned here is the two-tone body colour combination. The red-and-black finish is now somewhat a trademarked colour for the fast Peugeots as we’ve also seen in the larger 308 GTi. In addition, the supermini gets new bumpers with larger air intakes at the front, different radiator grille pattern, and fancy two-tone five twin-spoke wheels hiding large red brake calipers.
More on the new 208:
The previous generation of the 208 GTi used a high-output 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which generated 200 bhp and 203 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a six-speed manual transmission, the motor provided a proper 0 to 62 miles per hour acceleration in 6.5 seconds. We expect the new model to retain a similar powertrain configuration with a turbocharged small-displacement ICE and a stick-shift gearbox.
This rendering gives us hope the new 208 GTi will once again be one of the best-looking hot hatches in the supermini segment. We will have to wait at least a year to see the real product though.