An Electric Peugeot 208 GTi Is Happening

Once upon a time, in the 1980s and 1990s, some of the best hot hatches around came from Peugeot. Then, in the 2000s, some of the worst hot hatches around came from Peugeot instead, until it found its mojo again in the last decade with the excellent 208 and 308 GTi.

Since they went out of production, the fast Pug hatch has been dormant again, but thankfully, that won’t be the case for long. Peugeot’s new CEO, Alain Favey, has confirmed to media including Autocar that the 208 GTi is making a comeback. There is, naturally, a catch: this time it’ll be electric.

“I’m in a position to confirm that we will reintroduce the GTi on the e-208 as soon as possible. We’ve made the decision that Peugeot GTi will be reintroduced,” said Favey.

While ‘as soon as possible’ leaves plenty of wriggle room, making a hot version of the current e-208 shouldn’t take much. It rides on Stellantis’ e-CMP small car platform, which has recently seen a host of small, hot EVs debut on it – the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, Abarth 600e and Lancia Ypsilon HF.

All of these cars share the same basic makeup – an electric motor powering sending either 237 or 276bhp to the front wheels, depending on trim, and crucially, a proper Torsen mechanical limited-slip diff on the front axle. We’ve sampled the more powerful 276bhp setup in both the Alfa and Abarth, and come away very impressed with just how good to drive both are.

Should the e-208 GTi retain that setup, then – and there’s no reason at all it shouldn’t – it’ll be off to a very promising start. What’s more, the standard e-208 is smaller, lower and lighter than both the Alfa Romeo Junior and Fiat 600e, which can only be more good news.

Whether an electric Peugeot GTi can win over fans of the brand’s past hot hatch output remains to be seen, but the return of a hot Peugeot is welcome after the brand’s Peugeot Sport Engineered badge died out after just one model, the 508 PSE.

Favey didn’t exclude the possibility of more GTi models, with electric or combustion powertrains, but said the badge’s expansion will hinge around customer feedback to the e-208 GTi. He also said that the return of the GTi badge was important both to link Peugeot to its heritage as it enters the era of electrification, and to create greater synergy between the brand’s road cars and its Le Mans-entering 9X8 Hypercar.

We’ll be watching closely, then, for more details on the e-208 GTi. Are you excited to see the badge return once again, even if it’s on an EV?