With the Peugeot GTI sub-brand now gone, we’ll need to be looking to the French company’s newly formed ‘Sport Engineered’ division for faster stuff. And the new performance arm is ready to show off its first effort: the 508 Sport Engineered.
We’re off to a good start – this is the most powerful production Peugeot ever made. There’s the familiar 1.6-litre inline-four turbo engine under the bonnet, but here, it’s backed up by two electric motors – one for each axle – and an 11.5kWh battery back.
This gives a total system power of 355bhp and 384lb ft, meaning it has a little less power and slightly more torque than a BMW M340i. Battery packs and motors aren’t light, of course, so it is slower off the mark. Still, 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds is respectable, and instant torque from the motors makes in-gear acceleration impressive – it’ll do 50-74mph in three seconds.
Running on electricity alone, it’s possible to drive up to 26 miles. Once flat, it takes two hours to bring the battery pack to a full charge if using a domestic plug socket. According to the WLTP cycle, the 508 Sport Engineered is good for 139mpg and puffs out 46g/km of CO2, although the real-world figures will vary wildly depending on usage.
The track is wider than the standard 508’s, and in each corner, you’ll find a 20-inch alloy wheel wrapped in a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyre. There are also bigger front brakes and new adaptive dampers.
So it doesn’t get mistaken for any old 508, those new rims are teamed up with a new front bumper, a more aggressive grille, new side skirts and a rear diffuser. There are little ‘winglets’ front and rear, and a heap of ‘Kryptonite’ green details.
There’s more of the green stuff going on inside, along with some lovely-looking wood, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10-inch infotainment screen. The latter elements get bespoke graphics here.
We can expect the 508 Sport Engineered to go on sale early next year, with a starting price comfortably over £40,000.
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