GTi is again! Peugeot’s mythical badge is now on an electrical automobile – can it’s the 205 GTi’s religious successor?

After part a decade away, Peugeot’s mythical GTi efficiency badge is again – however on an electrical car.

The three-letter moniker, which is synonymous with its iconic 205 GTi of the 1980s and 1990s, has been stamped onto a souped-up model of the Peugeot e-208 EV.

Unveiled these days at the eve of the 2025 Le Man 24 Hour, it is formally the primary time the adored badge has seemed for 5 years – for the reason that 308 GTi used to be discontinued in 2020.

And it invitations an instantaneous comparability between Peugeot’s new electrical sizzling hatch and its 205 GTi ancestor, which is regarded as one of the crucial highest to ever grace our roads.

Set to rival the EV Abarth 500e, Alpine’s A290 and Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Electric sizzling hatches, the French marque guarantees it’ll focal point on ‘using sensations’.

Peugeot has assured the ‘highest efficiency within the electrical sizzling hatch marketplace’, claiming the e-208 GTi will boost up from 0 to 62mph in simply 5.7 seconds.

Debuting some 40 years after the unique 205 GTi, can it in point of fact be thought to be its religious successor?

The Peugeot 205 GTi is arguably the defining sizzling hatch of the 1980s and 1990s, along side VW’s Golf GTI, and instructions massive costs in 2025

The new fashion is an overly giant deal for Peugeot. 

That’s as a result of it is the first all-electric automobile to be graced through the GTi stamp. 

With this in thoughts, the staff chargeable for developing it used to be given a strict temporary to verify the e-208 lives as much as the three-letter standing that has underpinned its efficiency machines for 4 a long time. 

But debate will most likely rage round it sporting the GTi identify, no longer least as it at the start stood for ‘Grand Tourer injection’ – the latter of which is not in any respect related to an electrical drivetrain.

Removing ourselves from this heated dialog, here is what we all know concerning the e-208 GTi simply hours after it used to be unveiled…

Hot hatch appears to be like

To give the e-208 GTi a extra squatted and competitive stance, engineers have decreased the suspension through 30mm and prolonged the monitor (the space between the wheels) on the entrance through 56mm and 27mm to the rear.

While the traditional e-208 is already a boxy, eighties-inspired supermini, plenty of further changes has ramped its useful glance as much as 11.

The wheel arches had been bulked as much as accommodate the broader monitor, with a flared phase excessive of the tyres that includes a purple pinstripe – a nod to the unique 205 GTi’s plastic frame trim that ran the duration of its profile.

A disappointing omission is its loss of the unique’s strake inserts within the C-pillars with the ‘GTi’ font in purple. However, this styling cue has been carried into the brake lighting fixtures, and the LED lighting fixtures up entrance.  

There’s a brand new entrance splitter and rear diffuser to tick the recent hatch bins, however those additionally build up downforce whilst cornering.

At the again, there is a unmarried black panel flanked at every finish through the sunshine clusters to place a contemporary twist on its forefather’s famend horizontal fluted plastic phase.

Unique to the GTI EV are the 18-inch wheels in line with the ones used at the 205 GTi 1.9, with the fabled ‘holes’ no longer only a nod to the fashionable vintage however formed to extend cooling to the enlarged 355mm brake discs and four-piston calipers entrusted with offering further preventing continual.

Unveiled these days at the eve of the 2025 Le Man 24 Hour, that is formally the primary Peugeot to put on the mythical badge  for the reason that 308 GTi used to be discontinued again in 2020

To give it a extra squatted and competitive stance, engineers have decreased the suspension and prolonged the monitor

The e-20 GTi will get those distinctive 18-inch wheels – a nod again to the edges of the 205 GTi 1.9

The release fashion published the day ahead of the beginning of the French staying power race is done in an unique shiny purple paint, which harks again to the Cherry choice that popularised the 205 GTi within the eighties.

The shiny purple accents elevate over to the cabin, with scarlet carpets, ground mats and seat belts to offer a ‘sporty surroundings’ to the cockpit. 

Even the seats are a contemporary twist of the cut up design of the 205 GTi 1.9.

A central purple trim extends around the seat and backrest, whilst the purple mesh at the proper facet of the chairs recollects that of the 205 GTi 1.6.

Even the seats are a contemporary twist of the cut up design of the 205 GTi 1.9

Back to the 80s: Bright purple accents elevate over to the cabin, with scarlet carpets, ground mats and seat belts to offer a ‘sporty surroundings’ to the cockpit

Will the e-208 GTi pressure like an old-school sizzling hatch? 

To be sure the e-208 GTi has the efficiency to compare its daring appears to be like, Peugeot has remodeled on the subject of ever aspect of its powertrain and chassis with enter from its ‘Sport’ department, which these days leads its price within the World Endurance Championship.

While the usual e-208 has the choice of a 50 or 51kWh battery, the power supply for the GTi is an higher 54kWh unit.

This makes use of ‘optimised control’ with stepped forward cooling to verify it may possibly cope underneath the competitive using stipulations it’ll most likely undergo by the hands of fanatic house owners.

Peugeot bosses declare it will have to go back 217 miles of vary on a complete price – despite the fact that this figures is in line with reliable gas financial system laboratory measurements and no longer the club-footed using of a boy racer. 

There’s a brand new entrance splitter and rear diffuser to tick the desired sizzling hatch field, but additionally build up downforce

The battery provides a 278bhp electrical motor, which produces an excellent 345Nm of torque. Thanks to the enhanced traction from the chassis tweaks, it’ll supply a sub-six-second dash time to 62mph and an electronically restricted most sensible pace of 112mph.

While Peugeot is but to explain the automobile’s bulk, it says it has the most productive power-to-weight ratio in its section of 5.7kg consistent with horsepower. 

The addition of a limited-slip differential will optimise the dealing with traits and function whilst cornering to make this a real B-road weapon.

Upgraded suspension springs and surprise absorbers had been added, which, mixed with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres as same old, along side a tuned rear anti-roll bars, will have to stay it planted to the street.

Tweaks to the steerage rack will make it really feel sharper than the usual supermini, too. 

Peugeot has additionally presented a bespoke ‘Sport’ mode as a part of the adaptive using settings; activating it switches off the motive force help options to ‘maximise sensations’ when the EV is being thrashed round a monitor.

Peugeot bosses declare it will have to go back 217 miles of vary on a complete price 

How a lot will the e-208 GTi price?

The giant query on everybody’s lips is how a lot the e-208 GTi  goes to price.

While Peugeot has but to place a company determine at the electrical sizzling hatch for the United Kingdom marketplace, we think it to ring in between £35,000 and £40,000.

The highest-spec same old e-208 these days prices £34,800 whilst arguably the GTi’s largest rival from fellow French outfit Alpine – the A290 – begins from £33,500, despite the fact that its maximum tough 217hp model is £38,000.

First deliveries will have to arrive against the top of the 12 months or early 2026.

What else do I want to know?

Using a traditional 7kW wallbox homecharger, the 54kWh battery within the e-208 GTi may also be recharged in 4 hours and 40 mins. 

However, a appropriate 100kW ultra-rapid charging level can spice up the battery from 20 to 80 consistent with cent price in lower than part an hour.

It additionally advantages from vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, which permits {an electrical} software – like a computer, kettle and even an e-bike – to be powered by way of the automobile’s high-voltage battery.

The e-208 GTi will probably be produced along the usual EV on the Zaragoza plant in Spain, despite the fact that its tough electrical motor is made in Trémery, in jap France – an outdated engine production plant that is won a contemporary improve for its transition to EVs.

And regardless of the efficiency upgrades, Peugeot has dedicated the e-208 GTi to the similar guaranty protection it supplies with its extra typical EVs.

This comprises eight-year/100,000 mile duvet for the car and the battery.

Unveiling the electrical sizzling hatch at Le Mans, Alain Favey, Peugeot CEO, referred to as the automobile a ‘ground-breaking subsequent bankruptcy in an iconic GTi tale’. 

He added: ‘This fashion represents a fusion of our wealthy heritage with state of the art generation, providing unheard of efficiency and using sensations, as a result of at Peugeot we’re fascinated about using excitement. 

‘With this new GTi, we set new requirements inside the sizzling hatch marketplace.’ 

Launched in 1984, the Peugeot 205 GTi has earned itself icon standing. Here’s a temporary historical past of the French sizzling hatch masterpiece

Peugeot 205 GTi: The icon

The Peugeot 205 GTi used to be introduced in 1984 into an technology that had fallen in love with the recent hatch because of the unique Golf GTI, writes Simon Lambert.

It regarded the phase, with the trendy three-door same old 205’s shape and stance enhanced, together with the addition of an overly 1980s red-striped trim and spoiler, to offer it a carrying personality.

The 205 GTi used to be to start with powered through a 1.6-litre engine, with 105bhp and later 115bhp. While that doesn’t sound like a lot at the moment, the automobile’s light-weight nature – with a curb weight of simply 848kg – supposed that efficiency stacked up smartly towards competitors.

More necessary despite the fact that used to be the 205 GTi’s dealing with.

Peugeot’s engineers had come across a magic method that supposed even 40 years later, the 205 GTi continues to be thought to be one of the crucial highest dealing with automobiles of all time.

The French carmaker had a close to quick hit on its fingers with the 205 GTi and eighties ‘yuppies’ fell head over heels for it, simply as that they had the Mark 1 and Mark 2 Golf GTI.

The 1.6-litre 205 GTi were given an improve from 105bhp to 115bhp simply forward of the release of the 1.9-litre 205 GTi in 1986. 

This got here with an up to date cabin, styling tweaks and the well-known Speedline alloy wheels as a substitute of the 1.6-litre automobile’s ‘pepperpot’ wheels.

The bragging rights delivered through the 130bhp higher engine prolonged to higher efficiency. The 0-to-60mph time used to be reduce from the 1.6-litre automobile’s 8.7 seconds to simply 7.8 seconds.

There’s nonetheless debate amongst 205 fanatics now as to which used to be the simpler automobile, the fizzy, revvy 1.6 or the torquey 1.9 GTi. The extensive settlement despite the fact that is that each are incredible.

The 205 GTi used to be to start with powered through a 1.6-litre engine, with 105bhp and later 115bhp

Peugeot’s engineers had come across a magic method that supposed even 40 years later, the 205 GTi continues to be thought to be one of the crucial highest dealing with automobiles of all time

According to Hagerty’s value information, a ‘good’ situation 1989 1.9 205 GTi is price about £15,000 – 15 years in the past, it will had been purchased for approximately £3,000

The 205 GTi remained on sale, thru a couple of minor beauty facelifts, till 1994, when it was a sufferer of excessive insurance coverage prices delivered through boy racer crashes and joyrider thefts – and the 205 coming against the top of its lifetime.

Throughout the past due 1990s and early 2000s, the 205 GTi retained a hardcore fanbase however to maximum was simply some other growing old sizzling hatch.

Then it began to be preferred, with lovers like Jeremy Clarkson making a song its praises in a well-known Top Gear clip you’ll in finding on YouTube, and shortly costs began appreciating.

They in point of fact took off within the 2010s, because the 205 GTi was recognised as a contemporary vintage and public sale costs for mint situation automobiles broke during the £10,000 mark and soared up within the £20,000 and £30,000s for the most productive examples.

According to Hagerty’s value information, a ‘good’ situation 1989 1.9 205 GTi is price about £15,000 – 15 years in the past, it will had been purchased for approximately £3,000.