E-208 GTi back –
and electric

When Peugeot decided to resurrect the GTi badge for an electric hatchback, it was tempting to roll your eyes. The legendary 205 GTi was loud, light, and gloriously analogue, one of those cars that left your palms damp and ears ringing after every drive. Slapping that kind of history onto an electric vehicle (EV) looks like a stunt – until you get up close and realise they might just mean it.

They picked the perfect stage for the reveal. The fan zone at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was buzzing with the usual motorsport types, but this wasn’t a PR exercise. Peugeot wheeled out Alain Favey, Jean-Marc Finot, Matthias Hossann and racing driver Paul di Resta to talk shop and then pulled the covers off the E-208 GTi. No growling exhaust, obviously. Instead, it posed under the French summer sky with a track-hugging stance and all the tiny, techie details that show this car is more than just a badge.

That squat body is a clue that Peugeot Sport had a big say. They dropped the whole car by 30 mm, shoved the tracks out by 56 mm up front and 27 mm at the back, then filled the arches with 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s wrapped around serious 355 mm discs. Those brakes wear red calipers – just like the old 205 GTi – and the wheels have holes that aren’t for show; they help cool the brakes too. Even the paint is a throwback to a 1980s rich red.

Under all that nostalgia is the electric heart. The motor punches out 280 horsepower and 345 Nm of torque, so this small hatch can knock off 0–100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. That’s quicker than most people need, and probably quicker than most will dare to drive on public roads. But this is a GTi, so performance matters, even if you’ll rarely use all of it outside a mountain pass.

That’s where the battery and tech come in. Peugeot has tucked a 54 kWh pack into the floor, promising up to 350km of range if you can keep your inner rally driver at bay. Rapid charging will see it hit 80% in under 30 minutes, and there’s a wall box thrown in if you do most of your top-ups at home. A smartphone app lets you plan trips, pre-heat the cabin or check the charge – all handy, of course.

That dual personality is what really defines the E-208 GTi. On one hand, there’s all this very sensible tech that promises an easy everyday life. On the other, the engineering team at Peugeot Sport clearly had some fun. They raided their endurance-racing notebook to add hydraulic bump stops, a limited-slip diff and some clever chassis tweaks that promise sharp, agile responses. Dial up sport mode and the cabin even pipes in a synthetic soundtrack to make up for the lack of exhaust snarl.

There are drawbacks, of course. EVs still add weight that the 205 GTi could never have imagined. The digital tricks will feel a bit gimmicky to anyone who loves old-school mechanical feedback. And the GTi label itself will probably rile up purists who believe a true hot hatch needs pistons and fuel, not batteries and kilowatts.

But those are arguments for a different era. Right now, most people just want a car that feels alive and doesn’t come with the compromises that early EVs did. That’s the real point of the E-208 GTi. It’s not a museum piece, nor a nostalgic throwback. It’s Peugeot tipping its hat to a history it hasn’t forgotten, and then then pointing the badge firmly toward whatever comes next.