The Peugeot E-208 GTI will do 0-62mph in 5.5s and cost you £34,995

This is the new and rather exciting Peugeot E-208 GTI. Again! For like, the third time! And now we have another nugget of information!

Yes, Peugeot’s rather pleased with its all-electric hot hatch that it says is an heir to a small car it made in the 1980s. Never heard of that one, but there’s plenty to talk about with this one.

For today, we learn it will accomplish 0-62mph in 5.5s, which is two entire tenths quicker than when it originally revealed the car last year. Think of what you’d do with all those saved seconds! Peugeot also says it’ll do 50-75mph in 3.2s.

That sprint makes it faster than stuff like the Cupra Born VZ, an electric Mini Cooper JCW, the Alpine A290, and Abarth 500e. Much faster than that new VW ID Polo GTI, too.

So, it’s quick. It packs the same battery as the regular, non-GTI E-208, which means a 51kWh usable pack. However, in this iteration Peugeot Sport has upgraded the battery’s cooling – like when and how much coolant is hosed onto it – to make sure you can better utilise its 277 electric horsepowers more consistently.

“One of our main priorities was performance durability,” said Peugeot Sport’s GTI boss Christophe Auriault. “We did not want to reduce this exceptional power to protect the battery from derating, something seen on some electric performance cars.

“For example, if a customer is driving up a mountain pass, they should be able to stay in ‘Sport’ mode for the duration,” he added. Speaking of driving up mountain passes, Peugeot claims a WLTP range of up to 233 miles with the optional (and free, mind) Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 tyres, or just under 220 miles on the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber.

Peugeot also tells us this E-208 GTI is 25mm lower than the standard car, wider, features 18in wheels, gets an extra rear anti roll bar, a mechanical limited slip diff, a bespoke spring and damper setup using Peugeot’s extensive knowledge from racing in the WEC, big brakes, and that aforementioned ‘Sport’ mode.

There’s lots of GTI-specific exterior, interior and trim detailing too, as you’d expect: new colours, GTI badges, red carpets, upgraded seats, a bespoke wheel, GTI gauges on the dash and ‘red-themed’ displays as standard.

Prices will kick off from £34,995, though Peugeot’s pretty confident it can sneak the E-208 GTI into the UK’s Electric Car Grant scheme, meaning £1,500 off that – so £33,495 if it works out. It’ll be on sale – and with that ECG confirmed – later this summer.