Peugeot 208 R2 - it's a rally prepared 208

Peugeot 208 R2 - a rally prepared 208

The new Peugeot 208 is about to hit showrooms so Peugeot are delivering a bit of sporty fairy dust with the rally prepared Peugeot 208 R2.

As we say every time we run a story on the new Peugeot 208 – there’s a lot riding on it for Peugeot.

The world has fallen out of love with mainstream cars and has become polarised, with ‘Premium’ and ‘Budget’ selling at the expense of a squeezed middle.

Despite that – or perhaps because of it – Peugeot are throwing what they can at the new 208, and from what we’ve seen it is very promising. And to help it hit showrooms next month with an extra bit of sporty credibility Peugeot has revealed the first of three rally prepared 208s.

The 208 Rs comes kitted out in black and white and replaces the stalwart 207 RC Rallye. It gets a naturally aspirated 1.6 litre VTi with 185bhp with variable valve timing and a dose of input from French tuners Sodemo to fettle it.

New hydraulic steering replaces the regular 208’s electric version, it loses 40kg, gets a multi-point welded roll cage and a five-speed sequential gearbox.

The 208 R2 will make its first public appearance at the Tour de Corse next month, and the next two versions of the Rally 208 will be revealed later in the year.

You can have either a gravel or asphalt prepared kit version of the R2 for £30k with a fully built engine (and a kit to convert one to the other will also be available) or Peugeot will do all the work and deliver you a completed 208 R2 for £46k.

The Peugeot 208 R2 will be available from November from the Peugeot Sport Racing Shop.