Peugeot has taken the wraps off its 308 GTi hot hatch. The performance focused pocket rocket will debut at the end of June at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It features a high powered 1.6-Litre turbo motor, race-ready interior and enhanced suspension dynamics.

Exterior spruce up

The 308 GTi has been visually tweaked to appear more aggressive and fast, sitting 11 mm lower to the ground. The nose features LED headlamps, flanking a new black radiator grille with a horizontal chequered pattern and gloss-black finishing. Below the bumper, two front spoilers boost aerodynamic performance. The redesigned door sills hint at the car’s aggressive nature, while the new rear design features a gloss-black section housing the twin exhaust pipes. Finally, a wider track has been employed front and back in order to offer more grip and cornering prowess.

Interior

Red stitching is used on the upholstery, door panels, gear lever and floor mats. The door-sill carries the GTi and Peugeot Sport logos and is finished in aluminium. The same material is used on the pedals, foot rest and gear knob.If you opt for the top spec 308 GTi, the bucket seats are upholstered in Alcantara with GTi signatures stitched into them.

The 308 GTi is equipped with the Driver Sport Pack. Pressing the Sport button on the centre console changes the display from white to red, shows additional information on the central read-out (power, torque, boost, lateral and longitudinal acceleration), enhances the engine’s throaty growl and changes accelerator pedal mapping for a more engaging driving experience.

308 GTi engine

A 1.6-Litre turbo with two separate outputs will be available for the 308 GTi. The introductory model is equipped with 182 kW and 330 Nm of torque. That’s good enough to get it to 100kph in 6.2 seconds. If you want more from the 308 GTi then Peugeot does also offer it with 200 kW and the same 330 Nm of torque. It sprints to 100kph a bit quicker than the intro model making the 100kph sprint in 6.0 seconds. Both cars have to be electronically restrained at 250kph.

Tweaked suspension

The entire vertical suspension system in the front is specific to the new 308 GTi, and including bespoke spring stiffness and shock absorber calibration. The anti-roll bar is more malleable to ensure a better match with the rear axle and enhances grip while cornering while also increasing road holding.

Exclusive to the top-spec GTi 270 is a limited-slip differential, incorporated into the transmission to improve cornering traction.

Peugeot South Africa is unable to say if the 308 GTi will come to SA but says if it is feasible that we will likely see it launch in the third quarter of 2016.