Peugeot celebrates 30 years of GTi at Goodwood

PEUGEOT will celebrate 30 years of its iconic GTi nameplate when it unveils a limited edition of the 208 GTi hot-hatch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom next week.

The French car-maker has offered a glimpse of the 30th Anniversary edition with a close-up shot of the 208's nose, and while it appears to be identical to the regular GTi, it features a small Union Jack flag on the lower part of the grille.

Very few details accompany the teaser picture so it is not yet clear whether the flag motif will be a part of each 30th Anniversary model, or whether it will be reserved for the vehicle on show at Goodwood only.

The limited edition hot-hatch will be on show in Goodwood's Supercar and First Glimpse class as well as being on show in the Moving Motor Show showroom and the famous Hillclimb race itself.

It is not the first time Peugeot has chosen Goodwood to debut a performance car, and the special 208 will follow the unveiling of the 199kW/330Nm RCZ R turbocharged sportscar at last year's motoring extravaganza in the English countryside.

The regular 208 GTi is powered by the turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine from the standard RCZ, as well as a number of Mini and Citroen models, and produces 147kW of power and 275Nm of torque.

While performance data is not yet available, a release from Peugeot said the Anniversary edition would be “specially-enhanced”, suggesting a possible boost in power or improved dynamics.

Peugeot first introduced the GTi badge back in 1984 on the now iconic 205 hatchback, with subsequent iterations of its light car featuring the badge.

The 208 GTi – launched locally in August last year from $29,990, plus on-road costs – faces some tough competition in the light hot-hatch market, with fellow French car-maker Renault's 147kW/250Nm Clio RS200 Sport retailing for $29,290 and the 132kW/240Nm Ford Fiesta ST from a very competitive $25,990 plus on-roads.

This year, Peugeot has sold 364 208s in Australia, a slight 8.8 per cent dip compared with last year's haul of 399 units, but it is unclear how many of these variants are GTis.

Peugeot's local PR and communications manager, Jaedene Hudson confirmed that the special edition model will not be coming to Australia.