What's the news?
Right, we are too busy drooling to come up with coherent sentences, so let's just run through the bullet points on this one.
New Peugeot hot hatch concept. Hot? Ruddy steaming more like. The 308 R Hybrid previews a real production car. It has the 1.6-litre 270hp petrol engine from the RCZ-R and two electric motors, one front, one rear (so yes, it's four-wheel drive). They have 115hp each. Which makes 500hp. Yup, 500hp. 0-100km/h in just 4.0 seconds. Top speed of 250km/h. Emissions of 70g/km because it's a plugin hybrid.
Wow. Just wow. Mad blue and black colours scheme. Sexy body kit. Cool interior that uses a new 'digital weave' process to make the dashboard - feels good and saves weight. Front electric motor actually does more of the braking than the massive 380mm discs. Why? Charges up the battery quicker, obvs. Four driving modes: ZEV - electric power only, and it charges from a fast charger in just 45 minutes. Road - 300hp. Track - 400hp and 530Nm of torque. And then Hot Lap - full 500hp and 730Nm of torque.
"PEUGEOT Sport's expertise applies an uncompromising approach to meeting targets. With our experience in hybrid vehicles developed with the PEUGEOT 908, the high-performance hybrid powertrain fitted to the 308 gives a glimpse of the potential for ultra-sports models in the future," says Bruno Famin, Director at PEUGEOT Sport.
"If we were able to reach this kind of performance on a C-segment, it is all down to our passion for a challenge and our desire for excellence. PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid is part of a very select club of cars reaching 0-62mph in four seconds," says Jean-Philippe Delaire, PEUGEOT Sport Head of Development, 308 R HYbrid powertrain.