The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 was a mid-engined rally weapon loosely based on a shopping car. Peugeot built 200 road versions to qualify for Group B, and the competition car won the manufacturers’ and drivers’ world titles in 1985 and 1986.

The new E-T16 concept borrows that Group B attitude and several specific details like the gray paint and red stripe wrapping around the body. The original’s side intake now houses the charging port and door-opening mechanism. Underneath the one-piece rear clamshell, electric motors replace the combustion engine.

Peugeot claims its three motors deliver over 800 horsepower and a 2.5-second sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph). An 85-kWh battery and 800-volt architecture promise 249 miles of WLTP range and a sub-15-minute charge to 10–80%. Clever cooling supposedly allows three consecutive Nürburgring laps without power restrictions.

More interestingly, this concept gives us strong indications of what the next-generation 208 B-segment electric production hatchback will be like. The all-new 208, due sometime next year, will be electric-only, sold alongside today’s hybrid 208.

Peugeot’s official information about the platform confirms its structural battery integration and support for 800 volts; however, the production model is unlikely to get the latter, since no rival in the segment offers it.

The most obvious production cues are the horizontal “three-claw” lights at both ends and the cabin’s new i-Cockpit layout. Peugeot says the concept exaggerates the next E-208’s proportions, so mentally shrink those wheel arches and remove the enormous wing, and you’re getting closer to what the series car will look like.

Source link