GT Line joins Peugeot 308 range
BY DANIEL GARDNER | 6th Jan 2015
The French car-maker says the warmed-up 308 will attract customers to the small hatchback who want a combination of day-to-day driving comfort and sporty qualities.
Peugeot Australia national marketing manager Dimitri Andreatidis said the addition of the GT Line may be followed by more warmer variants down the track.
“Australians love performance and sports-oriented models, as proven by the response to the 208 GTi, so there is an opening for us to talk to a range of customers who don’t necessarily want the high-performance experience of a GTi variant,” he said.
“The GT Line will give us the ability to offer a vehicle that offers visual and performance upgrades, while still maintaining comfort in day-to-day driving duties.
“The first step in broadening the GT Line will be the launch of the all-new 308 GT in 2015. From there we will be working with France to investigate a number of opportunities to grow this segment in the future.”With tuned versions of the 308 Allure engines, the new 308 GT petrol variant has a 151kW/285Nm turbocharged four-cylinder, while a second GT option is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel with 133kW and a hearty 400Nm.
The new GT engines boost power from 110kW and 240Nm of the standard 1.6-litre petrol Allure, due next month, and 110kW and 370Nm of the diesel-powered Allure, but despite the boost to power fuel consumption has been cut.
Diesel GT versions use 0.1 litres less per 100km than the Allure diesel at 4.0L/100km, while the petrol GT manages a dramatic reduction of 0.9L/100km to 5.6L/100km.
Power transmission is handled by a six-speed manual gearbox in petrol versions while an automatic transmission deals with diesel GT torque using the same number of ratios.
Arriving in February, the petrol GT knocks a second from the lesser 1.6-litre 308, doing the zero to 100km/h dash in 7.5 seconds, while the uprated GT diesel accelerates 0.2 seconds quicker than the diesel Allure with a 0-100km/h of 8.4 seconds.
Top speed also gets a kick with GT petrol managing 235km/h and its diesel sibling clocking 220km/h, bettering the 211km/h of both Allure variants.
The more potent GT engines are also accompanied by other performance modifications which enhance steering feel, sharpen throttle responses, speed up automatic transmission gear shifts and amplify the engine note.
Performance pack upgrades also bring aesthetic tweaks with 18-inch wheels, GT badging, interior trim and steering wheel highlights as well as red instrument illumination and extra performance information from the on-board computer.
Drivers of GT vehicles can access power and torque output readings, turbo boost pressure and both longitudinal and lateral acceleration figures via the driver information display.
GT fettled variants can also be dressed up in a new Magnetic Blue metallic colour to set them apart from standard versions.
Peugeot's 508 range already has a GT variant available in either wagon or sedan body shape, powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine, priced from $56,790 and $59,790 respectively before on-road costs.
The top-performing 508 will return in the first quarter of this year with a mild visual upgrade featuring bi-Xenon directional headlights and 19-inch wheels, and its front end gets a dynamic sharpening with double wishbone suspension.
Power from its 2.2-litre diesel engine is unchanged with 150kW and 450Nm of torque.
Pricing for the 2015 GT-badged Peugeot range is yet to be announced but further details are expected in the coming weeks.
The car-maker is yet to confirm the return of a high-performance 308 GTi, but the 200kW 'R' concept from last year's Frankfurt motor show was almost certainly a hint of things to come.
