The pocket rocket is dead, long live the pocket rocket? On this inexorable journey from the car to its electrification, Alpine, CUPRA, Peugeot, Abarth and MINI are getting ready to reinvent the compact sports car, which will exchange octane for electrons.
There are still pocket rockets on the market (but less and less) and this year we even saw this niche being enriched with the arrival of the excellent Hyundai i20 N, but the fate of these small and rebellious octane models seems to be set, by force of regulations against emissions — it's a matter of (a few) years before they have to leave the scene.
However, behind the scenes of the automobile industry, a new and unprecedented generation of pocket rockets is already being prepared, and they will be an “animal” quite different from the one we have known until now.
That's because we're going to have to forget about the gasoline-powered pocket rockets that we know and love so well, which make noise when you crush the accelerator, which bring “pops and bangs” as standard, and have three pedals for greater interaction and control.
The new “species” that will take its place will be 100% electric and 100% more… easy. More accessible performance, absolute linearity in its delivery, without ineffective interruptions to change relationships. But will they “get under the skin” like some of the pocket rockets of today and of the past? In a few years we will know.
The closest thing we have today to this future reality is the MINI Cooper SE , the electric version of the well-known MINI that, with 135 kW or 184 hp, already guarantees respectable numbers, as attested by the 7.3s in the 0-100 km/h and comes with a chassis to match, which gives it the sharpest dynamic attitude. of all the small electrics on sale today.
With a new generation of the classic three-door MINI planned for 2023, expectations are high for the sportier variants and, it is hoped, that they will allow for superior range — just 233 km on the current model.
French answer
More proposals for this niche are planned and the first one we should know will probably be the Peugeot 208 PSE , with rumors also pointing to the year 2023 for its unveiling, coinciding with the restyling of the successful French model.
There is already an e-208, with 100 kW or 136 hp of power and a 50 kWh battery, but the expectation is that the future 208 PSE (Peugeot Sport Engineered) will add more power to ensure greater performance.
At the moment there are only rumors about how many more horses, or rather kilowatts, it will bring. According to Car Magazine, the future 208 PSE will come with 125 kW of power or 170 hp. A modest addition, but one that should guarantee seven seconds or a little less in the classic 0-100 km/h. As a reference, the e-208 makes 8.1s.
The battery should remain at 50 kWh, due to physical limitations of the CMP platform, which will translate into a range of 300 km or a little more.
But the biggest expectation will be regarding the chassis. If the 508 PSE, the first Peugeot Sport Engineered to be released, is any indication of what we might find in the future 208 PSE, there is hope for this 100% electric pocket rocket.
In the following year, in 2024, we should meet who will be its greatest potential rival, the alpine based on the future Renault 5 electric. Still without a definitive name, we already know that Alpine's future electric pocket rocket will have greater “firepower”.
If the Renault 5 electric will have 100 kW of power (136 hp), the Alpine will mount the same electric motor as the new Mégane E-Tech Electric, 160 kW (217 hp), which should guarantee a time in the 0-100 km/h below six seconds.
It will have the engine of an electric Mégane, but it is unlikely that it will use the 60 kWh battery that equips it and which guarantees more than 450 km of autonomy. Most likely, it will use the 52 kWh battery, the largest planned for the Renault 5 electric, and which should guarantee around 400 km of autonomy.
Like the Peugeot 208 PSE, the Alpine will also be a front wheel drive, in the best hot hatch tradition or, in this specific group, pocket rocket. And it should be a stark contrast for the Renault Sport that have marked the last few decades at this level.
Italians also prepare electrically "poisoned" pocket rocket
Leaving France and descending south, in Italy, 2024 will also be the year we will meet the first electric scorpion of the Abarth.
Little or nothing is known about the future electric Italian pocket rocket, but let's assume it will most likely be a “poisoned” version of the new Fiat 500 electric. The electric city car comes equipped with an 87 kW (118 hp) engine, which allows for 9.0s at 0-100 km/h — we believe it will happily surpass that value at Abarth. It remains to be seen for how much.
Today we can still purchase the Abarth 595 and 695 equipped with a 1.4 Turbo full of power and character, and despite their many limitations — as we discovered in our latest pocket rocket test from the scorpion brand — it's hard to resist the charms. of this proposal. Will the new electric scorpion be equally enchanting?
spanish rebel
Last but not least, we will see the 2025 production version of the CUPRA UrbanRebel , the exuberant concept unveiled almost a month ago at the Munich Motor Show.
Try to visualize the concept without the exaggerated aerodynamic props and we get a close picture of what will be the future production version of the model.
The production version of the UrbanRebel will be part of a new generation of compact electric models from the Volkswagen Group, which will use a shorter and simplified version of the MEB, to make them more affordable.
It will also have front-wheel drive and, it appears, the CUPRA UrbanRebel will be equipped with an electric motor of 170 kW or 231 hp, which puts it in line with the Alpine in terms of performance.
Little or nothing else is known about the future Spanish electric pocket rocket, but oddly enough, we have an idea of how much it will cost, despite it being nearly four years away.
The new 100% electric CUPRA proposal, which will be positioned below the new Born, will present a price 5000 euros higher than that announced for the future Volkswagen on the same basis, anticipated by the concept ID. Life.
In other words, the future production version of UrbanRebel should start at 25 thousand euros, although this price is hardly the sportier version of the future model.