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Written by Stephen Dobie
What the heck is this?It"s the Peugeot 308 R Hybrid. Officially a concept for now, it"s near-as-dammit a 500bhp hot hatchback.As the name suggests, its power is made by combining petrol and electric power. And unsurprisingly, given such potency, it"s four-wheel drive, too.Give me more numbers.The combined total is 494bhp, when the 268bhp 1.6-litre petrol turbo (like you"ll find in a 308 GTI) is giving its all alongside the two 114bhp electric motors.There"s one on each axle, the front motor"s main role being to generate power to keep the battery topped up, while the rear motor boosts agility in corners, plus traction under acceleration.So most of the R Hybrid"s power drives the front axle, and it"s only really a 494bhp car when you engage launch control. Otherwise, the front motor keeps most of its power for battery regeneration and you"re left with a 394bhp hot hatch.Still hardly shabby, and more power than the bonkers new Ford Focus RSIt"s fast, then?With launch control engaged and every last horsepower used, this car will hit 60mph in under four seconds. It feels that fast, too. The incongruity of lunging so quickly towards the horizon in a sensible hatchback is every bit as eye watering as even quicker launches in Atoms and GT-Rs.The top speed is limited to 155mph, effectively pitching this Peugeot into the same echelon as AMG Mercs, M Division BMWs and RS Audis. Fitting, really: Peugeot"s big cheeses quote the latter as possible rivals for a production 308 R Hybrid.And how does it drive?Very well, particularly when you consider we were testing a development car and not a showroom product. As such we were limited to the circuit, but in truth, that"s the most comfortable place to drive an invaluable prototype with more torque than a Ferrari F12tdf.
Date: 2 Dec 2015
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 510
What the heck is this?It"s the Peugeot 308 R Hybrid. Officially a concept for now, it"s near-as-dammit a 500bhp hot hatchback.As the name suggests, its power is made by combining petrol and electric power. And unsurprisingly, given such potency, it"s four-wheel drive, too.Give me more numbers.The combined total is 494bhp, when the 268bhp 1.6-litre petrol turbo (like you"ll find in a 308 GTI) is giving its all alongside the two 114bhp electric motors.There"s one on each axle, the front motor"s main role being to generate power to keep the battery topped up, while the rear motor boosts agility in corners, plus traction under acceleration.So most of the R Hybrid"s power drives the front axle, and it"s only really a 494bhp car when you engage launch control. Otherwise, the front motor keeps most of its power for battery regeneration and you"re left with a 394bhp hot hatch.Still hardly shabby, and more power than the bonkers new Ford Focus RSIt"s fast, then?With launch control engaged and every last horsepower used, this car will hit 60mph in under four seconds. It feels that fast, too. The incongruity of lunging so quickly towards the horizon in a sensible hatchback is every bit as eye watering as even quicker launches in Atoms and GT-Rs.The top speed is limited to 155mph, effectively pitching this Peugeot into the same echelon as AMG Mercs, M Division BMWs and RS Audis. Fitting, really: Peugeot"s big cheeses quote the latter as possible rivals for a production 308 R Hybrid.And how does it drive?Very well, particularly when you consider we were testing a development car and not a showroom product. As such we were limited to the circuit, but in truth, that"s the most comfortable place to drive an invaluable prototype with more torque than a Ferrari F12tdf.
Date: 2 Dec 2015
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 510