Wednesday 1st October 2014

Peugeot 208 GTI 30th - details

It's on sale in November and they're only bringing 100 to the UK - get in there quickly!

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"You made me wait..." says the glamorous lady at the conclusion of Peugeot's big budget ad for the 208 GTI 30th. "I know. About 30 years," admits her suave, hot hatch loving gent. Substitute Peugeot for the gent and legions of 205 GTI-loving PHers for the lady in the frock and you have ... a not especially appealing mental image. But you get the message. We've been waiting a long time for a hot Peugeot that lives up to the considerable hype of the 205 GTI and even the manufacturer admits it.

Announced at Goodwood earlier this year and confirmed today for a Paris debut, the Peugeot 208 GTI 30th is the French hot hatch you don't need to make any excuses for. Apart, possibly, from that 'Coupe Franche' two-tone paint finish. Don't worry, it's optional.

'Coupe Franche' ... discuss

The substance in the GTI 30th package rests in a power bump from 200 to 208hp and torque rising from 203lb ft to 220lb ft. Worth three tenths off the 0-62mph time (now 6.5 seconds) it's also enough to give even a Mountuned FiestaST something to think about on its own but Peugeot has gone further, adding a Torsen limited-slip diff from the RCZ-Rand bulking out the suspension with a 10mm ride height drop, 22mm extra track at the front and 16mm more at the back. Springs and dampers have been recalibrated, the ESP has been relaxed to allow the diff to work to the foremost and the front anti-roll bar softened to the same end. The Brembo grabbed brakes are bigger and the tyres - running on 18-inch wheels - are half an inch wider.

And as the Clio Renaultsport's lustre fades it seems Peugeot could be on the brink of reasserting itself as the Gallic hot hatch of choice. Because this looks, on paper, to be the real deal. Bad news? They're only bringing 100 of them to the UK. So if you like what you're hearing you'd best get your order in quickly.

Peugeot has confirmed a starting price of £21,995, a £3,095 price walk from the standard 208 GTI but not unreasonable when you consider the additional hardware and poke. Don't like that Coupe Franche colour scheme? You might be out of luck, given that 75 of the 100 coming to the UK will be in that colour and bearing an £800 premium for the privilege. 20 of the remaining cars will be Satin White and just five will be in Rioja Red.

Peugeot's clearly feeling pretty pleased with itself for this and we dearly hope the transformation to the 208 GTI lives up to the hype. Hype heightened by an ad reprising 1984's 'The Bombardier' commercial for the original 205 GTI and putting a virtually enhanced spin on it. With added missiles and machine gun fire. Really. You can see it below and ponder what it was that so annoyed the gunship pilot he wanted to blow the GTI 30th into oblivion. Maybe he was holding out for a Rioja Red one and ended up being forced to buy a Coupe Franche example instead.

Super whizzy ad here

[r11co]

Cue a raft of posts about this car not being a patch on the seminal 205 1.9GTi, Peugeot having lost their way etc. etc.

I've never lost faith in the brand despite some questionable front-end styling compromises post-EuroNCAP pedestrian impact rules (every manufacturer has suffered from this although Peugeot get the stick because they were first).

This looks like a cool wee car.