GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Peugeot 208 GTi global debut

Peugeot fans will need to wait until the opening of the Geneva show next month to get an in-flesh sighting of the reprised GTi hot hatch. But the company has jumped the gun by providing some pre-introductory details and a selection of photographs showing the upcoming 208-based concept car.

To be introduced alongside a diesel "XY" Concept version of the 208, the GTi is billed as the “regeneration of a legend” and will be powered by the extremely familiar 1.6-litre turbo engine used within the PSA group (including the Peugeot RCZ THP 200) and in the BMW-owned MINI range. Transmission is a six-speed manual.

Peugeot’s 208 GTi press release goes for broke describing the red-themed presentation without going into much detail on the mechanicals.

Reference is made, however, to the 36mm-wider front and rear tracks and the larger front and wheel brake discs with red callipers.

The red show car rides on “diamond-cut and varnished” 18-inch alloy wheels, and the driver grips a flat-bottom steering wheel while staring intently at the “elevated instrument panel, the dials of which have a brushed aluminium background and very precise graduations.

“The dashboard capping is in Alcantara with grey stitching, whereas the roof is entirely black and the pedal bracket is aluminium. Finally, the dashboard strip and the vents combine the red and the black in a subtle gradation, whereas the check web also adorns the aluminium door crossbars.”

Seats are a combination of Nappa leather and cloth, with a tartan motif on the head restraints. Red embellishments are rife throughout the exterior (on the wheels, brake callipers, rectangular exhaust pipes) and interior (steering wheel, dashboard), and there’s the red white and blue of the French flag displayed proudly below the grille.

At this point Peugeot is not talking about anything other than a concept 208 GTi, but it seems generally accepted the car will appear in production form at the Paris motor show later this year, with a European on-sale date some time shortly afterwards.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...