Peugeot 308 R HYbrid Is a 500PS AWD Concept Car

[mikeavelli]

I love what I am reading and seeing.....

http://www.carscoops.com/2015/04/peugeot-308-r-hybrid-is-500ps-awd.html

There’s still no production Peugeot 308 R, but that hasn’t stopped the French carmaker from releasing another concept car using this name.
Shanghai Auto Show, the Peugeot 308 R Hybrid is a plug-in petrol hybrid vehicle developed by Peugeot Sport.

Besides the obvious performance (it’s a 500PS all-wheel drive car), the 308 R Hybrid sports a unique interior design with four individual seats and a blue and black color scheme.

The 308 R HYbrid rides on 235/35 R19 tyres set on tracks that have been widened by 80mm (3.15in) and features more aggressive looks than the standard model thanks to a modified front end sporting louvers on the bonnet as well as a modified bumper and grille with checked pattern.

The side air scoops integrate the sequential LED indicators while the central scoop sports the car’s signature 308 R HYbrid badge, carved into the block. The concept features an intense blue exterior color combined with matte black on the rear doors.

At the rear, Peugeot 308 R HYbrid features a narrow spoiler at the top of the tailgate and a bumper with two scoops that help keep the battery temperature down by drawing out the hot air.

The cabin features a stretched-out central console and four bucket seats upholstered in fawn-colored patinated leather. Red accents are visible around the dials, on the steering wheel center marker and on the center console.

Now for the most interesting part, the Peugeot 308 R HYbrid’s powertrain consists of a 4-cylinder petrol 1.6-liter THP 270 S&S engine (270PS/266hp) and an 85kW (115PS/114hp) electric motor linked to the 6-speed gearbox driving the front wheels, as well as a similar electric motor driving the rear axle.

Total system output is 500PS (493hp), allowing the 308 R HYbrid to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4 seconds and to cover 1 kilometer from a standing start in 22 seconds. Top speed is limited electronically at 250 km/h, while CO2 emissions are just 70 g/km.

The weight distribution is 60 percent to the front and 40 percent to the rear, with a weight/power ratio of 3.1 kg/PS.

 

[CIF]

Peugeots (and other French vehicles) are really nice to look at, and probably to rent and drive around, but I'd never want to own one even if I had the chance. Their reliability issues would just be too much for me. Unless I was really rich, that would be a different story .

 

[mmcartalk]

I haven't seen much of the ones built in the last 20-25 years, as all the French automakers left the American market by the late 1980s. The last new car of French design I can remember being on sale in the U.S. was AMC/Chrysler's Eagle premier, sold by the now-defunct Eagle Division. It was essentially a redone Renault 25, and had reliability to match. A co-worker of mine, at the time, owned one, and said it was the worst car he had owned.

French-designed cars, back then (don't know about now) also had dash and steering-column controls that would drive you up the wall. My brother had a 1979 Renault (5) LeCar. The wiper control was a flimsy rocker-switch on the right side of a steering-column housing-extension......almost every time you reached for something in the center-dash, you would accidentally bump it and run the wiper on dry glass. Signal for a right turn in the usual manner, with the left-stalk, and you switched off the headlights (that was a lot of fun at night) .........the turn-signal stalk was on the RIGHT side of the column. Then, when you DO correctly signal for a turn, the single double-green arrow on the panel flashes green in BOTH directions at once, not in the direction you are turning. Want high beams? Twist the left hand stalk forward. Then, to add injury to insult, the plastic (yes, plastic) seat-mounts for the driver's seat broke clean off after about a year....he had to drive around for a while with the seat propped in place by a wooden board braced behind it.......that, after the seat-seam also ripped open and the foam stuffing (no springs) started falling out of it. Then, Renault said to use 20-50W oil, which flowed like molasses in the wintertime, and the cold engine sometimes wouldn't crank below about 20 degrees or so, even with the manual choke.

He kept that car about two years, finally had enough (I had just about had enough the first time I drove it)......and then got a Honda Civic. I never liked the idea of him getting a Renault, but he had fallen in love with that car, and it did have at least two nice features.......a very soft ride by sub-compact car standards from a pillow-soft Roly-Poly suspension, and equally soft comfortable seats (when the stuffing didn't fall out)

So, what does all this have to with a current-generation Peugeot? Except for the ride and seat comfort, not much, I hope.