After having shown at the Paris Motor Show the plug-in hybrid version of the new Peugeot 508 , the French brand may be preparing to increase its top-of-the-range hybrid offer. As reported by the Australian website Motoring, Peugeot plans to launch a sports 508 based on the plug-in hybrid version.
The French brand may again use the R brand (it was last used on the RCZ coupé) to designate the most powerful version of the new 508. According to an internal source at the brand, to which Motoring had access, the future 508 R should use a plug-in hybrid system associated with the 1.6 PureTech to achieve around 350 hp.
To help transfer power to the ground, the future Peugeot 508 R will have to resort to a all-wheel drive system . As well as improvements to the plug-in hybrid system are expected, to allow an increase in power, it is also possible that the engineers of the French brand will install a larger battery pack in the future 508 R.
The numbers of the Peugeot 508 R
If the expectations are confirmed, the Peugeot 508 R will be able to reach 250 km/h and meet 0 to 100 km/h in at least 4.5s. Although there is no official information, this is not the first time that hints have emerged about the possibility of a sportier 508.The brand's head of design, Gilles Vidal, had already given signs in this direction when he stated that the French saloon would probably have versions above the 508 PHEV and that it could easily use 20″ or 21″ wheels.
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Gilles Vidal made it very clear that, as was also advanced by the internal source to which Motoring had access, the sportiest 508 could not be called GTI , since this is an acronym associated with smaller cars like the 208 or 308.
Enter R and exit RXH
At the same time that Peugeot appears to be preparing an offensive in the sports saloon market, the French brand has already let it be known that the “adventurous” version of the 508 van, the RXH, will have no successor.
As a cause of this disappearance, the brand points to the reduced sales figures achieved by the rival Audi A4 Allroad.
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Source: Motoring