Peugeot reveals cheap 208 Racing, now we need a road-going 208 Rallye

Peugeot has revealed a racing car that’s been spun from the 208. This 208 racing car built by Peugeot is called the Peugeot 208 Racing, and at €38,900 (excluding tax), it’s a cheap (ish) way to go and trade paint with other 208 Racing racing cars built by Peugeot.

The first thing that’ll strike you is that it looks quite excellent, seemingly infused with the spirit of great stuff like the 106 and 306 Rallye cars. Which means the second thing that’ll strike you is that, yes, we need a road-going 208 Rallye car. Now. All the ingredients are there.

Because the 208 Racing was built to compete in the upcoming FR6 Trophy – a French, low-cost and accessible rally championship designed for budding, amateur helmsmiths – the cars have to be fairly standard, albeit a bit reinforced, but infused with big boy helmsmith stuff and fine-tuned by full time professional helmsmiths.

So while it looks like a 208 running steel wheels, Peugeot Sport has worked hard to give it “all the attributes needed to acquire, perfect and master driving techniques: heel-toe, trail braking, load transfer, slip angle and much more”.

There’s a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine – the same as the road-going 208 – producing 145bhp (or more, depending on tune), matched to a six-speed manual gearbox with a short ratio, powering the front wheels and a car that weighs a scant 1,050kg. Little horsepowers! A manual ‘box! About a tonne in weight!

Though we’ve not yet been shown the cabin, we’re promised it’s a proper motorsport affair. There’s a dash that avoids reflections, a special display, a centre console with ‘controls’, a circuit breaker, and a competition ECU and wiring loom. The latter should be helpful for better decoding your ‘waheys!’ and ‘uh-ohs!’ and ‘not again!’ to the team.

Saying that, it’s safe, incorporating a welded roll cage and fire safety systems that meet the FIA’s Rally4 regulations. It also meets the most important regulation for any aspiring racer – it’s fairly cheap. It costs €38,900 (excluding VAT), which gives you a 208 Racing that’s ready to race.

While it’s not available in the UK, the petition for it to spawn a proper little 208 Rallye begins here.