The PEUGEOT 308 R HYbrid with four-wheel drive, three motors and two types of energy: a unique compact hatchback with supercar performance

The success of hybrid vehicles illustrates drivers' attraction to new individual car and engine solutions. As a precursor, #peugeot SPORT has created the first compact hybrid hatchback combining driving pleasure, radical performance and controlled consumption. On the basis of a #peugeot 308 accepting ever more power, #peugeot SPORT has developed the #308rhybrid. This hybrid petrol plug-in pushes back the boundaries of sporting prowess in the segment, offering truly extraordinary performance. Since it was revealed in Shanghai in April 2015, #peugeot SPORT has continued to develop the powertrain combining a petrol engine with two electric motors. 500 hp and 730 Nm can now be accessed via three driving modes (ZEV, HYbrid, HYbrid Sport) and a Launch Control strategy, supervised by the driver with the #peugeot i-Cockpit®.

The #peugeot 308 is a definite commercial success. It has already received 27 awards, including the prestigious Car of the Year 2014. The #peugeot 308 is reaffirming its status as a global car with the launch of the new 308S in China and its sporting prowess with the new 308 GTi by #peugeot SPORT. In fact, with the #308rhybrid version, it becomes the brand's icon.

Maxime Picat, Managing Director at PEUGEOT

PEUGEOT SPORT's expertise applies an uncompromising approach to meeting targets. We have therefore developed the 308 GTi by #peugeot SPORT, a revolution in its category. The high-performance hybrid powertrain fitted to the 308 gives a glimpse of the potential for ultra-sports models in the future.

Bruno Famin, Director at #peugeot SPORT

A balanced yet radical style

PEUGEOT #308rhybrid has the perfect proportions for its quest for pure performance: it is incredibly compact with wheels in its four corners offering perfect balance, attained by seating the 308 hatchback on the EMP2 platform. The elegant style and sporting prowess of the 308 are perfectly recognisable, borrowing the design codes explored on the Quartz concept car and expressing them in its own radical manner.

The balanced proportions of the #peugeot 308 and its clean-cut, technological design are the ideal base for a radical model like this. #peugeot #308rhybrid makes spectacular use of its assets for an even racier, evermore dynamic style.

Gilles Vidal, Head of Styling at PEUGEOT

Pinned to the ground on its 235/35 R19 tyres set on tracks that have been widened by 80 mm, the #peugeot #308rhybrid devours the road. Its front end is imposing with the expressive louvres on the bonnet and the sharp edges and sleek surfaces of its mineral bumper.

The grille features a checked pattern and supplies the innovative 500-hp powertrain with air. The side air scoops integrate the sequential LED indicators while the central scoop sports the car's signature #308rhybrid badge, carved into the block.

In profile, the lines, which have been cut to fit tightly around the mechanical components, catch the light as they draw your eye over the vehicle. #peugeot #308rhybrid is cloaked in an impressively intense blue, developed using fluorescent pigments and glass particles. This colour recalls both the hybrid powertrain and the shade historically reserved for French competition vehicles. On the rear doors, the blue is matched with a matte black, giving a different interpretation of the car’s clean lines, a trademark of the most extreme cars from #peugeot.

At the rear, #peugeot #308rhybrid is remarkably understated yet just as radical. The rear stance underscores the car's road handling while a narrow spoiler at the top of the tailgate reinforces the aerodynamics.

The air scoops and the body sills are embellished with a touch of white ceramic-look material, emphasising the car's dynamic character.

PEUGEOT i-Cockpit®, efficient design for the driver

The doors open to reveal an impressive interior structured by a stretched-out central console and four bucket seats. The selected materials and colours clearly state the aim of #peugeot #308rhybrid: performance.

The upper fittings and the roof lining are slate grey. The bucket seats are upholstered in a fawn-coloured patinated leather. In true sporting tradition, the interior is finished with touches of red, especially around the dials, the steering wheel centre marker and the central console.

For the first time ever, #peugeot #308rhybrid has adopted a set of materials taken from the range usually reserved for concept cars only. Hence, the dashboard is covered in a fabric produced using a digital weaving technique. This innovative material can be used to produce large, complex parts that are soft to the touch with no need for foam, making for a lighter vehicle. The digital fabric is used on the door panels together with black leather and the same fawn patinated leather as the seats.

Thanks to the innovative architecture of the #peugeot i-Cockpit®, the driver is fully in control of the 500 hp supplied by the powertrain. For this, there are three controls available to him. On the central console, two buttons enable him to supervise the mechanics. The first awakens the powerful powertrain while the second operates the transition from HYbrid mode into ZEV mode (100% electric).

The compact steering wheel, upholstered in perforated leather and bearing the #308rhybrid logo, allows for precise, incisive positioning when cornering. With the right hand thumb, the driver engages HYbrid Sport mode by pressing a button on the steering wheel. The paddles are immediately to hand, giving the driver finger-tip control over the six-speed gearbox.

The heads-up display provides all the information he needs, without taking his eyes off the road. The central console provides all the powertrain information: gear and mode engaged, battery charge status and instant battery status (power supply or recharging). The gear indicator enables the driver to draw the best from the powertrain by showing the ideal moment to move up a gear. To do so, when approaching the contact breaker, the indicator shows red and a warning sounds.

 A radically performing petrol hybrid plug-in

Development of the #peugeot #308rhybrid was entrusted to #peugeot SPORT. They were challenged to develop an efficient petrol hybrid plug-in powertrain, integrating it into the EMP2 platform and setting new limits in terms of performance.

The result is on a par with that challenge: quite simply astounding. Developing 500 hp with four-wheel drive, #peugeot #308rhybrid has its speed limited electronically at 250 km/h, going from 0 to 100 km/h is under 4.0 seconds, and covering 1,000 m from a standing start in under 22.5 seconds. In spite of all that, CO2 emissions are just 70 g/km.

It is perfectly balanced, with 60% of its weight to the front and 40% to the rear. #peugeot #308rhybrid has a fiery spirit but an incredible weight/power ratio barely reaching 3.1 kg/hp.

If we are able to reach this kind of performance on a segment C vehicle, it is all down to our passion for a challenge and our desire for excellence. #peugeot #308rhybrid is part of a very select club of cars reaching 0 to 100 km/h in under four seconds.

Jean-Philippe Delaire, #peugeot SPORT, Head of Development of the #peugeot #308rhybrid powertrain

PEUGEOT SPORT systematically called on its technical expertise and its successful motor racing track record to define the specifications of each component as well as its ideal position. The powertrain incorporates three power sources:

-    the new 308 GTi by #peugeot SPORT 4-cylinder petrol 1.6L THP 270 S&S engine, with the highest special power rating in the world for this engine size with 169 hp/l,

-    an electric motor with power of 85 kW / 115 hp, connected to the front wheels via the 6-speed gearbox,

-    an electric motor with the same characteristics on the rear axle.

From contact, the #308rhybrid automatically engages ZEV mode, the first of three modes which relies on the rear electric motor to propel the car. With the 115 hp produced by the rear electric motor, ZEV mode is active up to 100 km/h. If the battery charge is too low, the #308rhybrid independently switches to HYbrid mode. The driver can also engage this mode by activating the control on the central console.

In HYbrid mode, the power and torque transmitted to the wheels are at a maximum of 270 hp and 330Nm. The #308rhybrid is mainly propelled by the petrol engine. The front electric motor comes in on three phases. When picking up at low engine speed, it compensates for the turbo response time. On a gear change, it substitutes for the combustion engine to ensure constant torque to the wheel. Finally, the front electric motor can also recharge the battery. To do so, the petrol engine develops a higher power to the demand from the driver, and the extra power is diverted to the battery. In this mode, the empty battery requires less than 15 km to regain full capacity, thus increasing the availability of the last of the three modes.

HYbrid Sport mode can be accessed with the button on the right hand side of the steering wheel. When the accelerator pedal is pressed hard, the electric motors act as a boost and combine with the petrol engine to develop up to 400 hp and 530 Nm. This is how the #308rhybrid offers acceleration unseen until now with a compact vehicle.

At the front, the electric motor gives 15 hp extra to the front axle, and what's more, works in the same way as in HYbrid mode. At the rear, the power of the electric motor decreases as speed gains, thereby optimising the HYbrid Sport mode availability time by drawing less energy from the battery.

In addition to these three modes, the #308rhybrid has a Launch Control strategy to achieve the best standing starts. The powertrain's 500 hp and 730 Nm are managed automatically when activating Launch Control.

To do so, when the vehicle is at zero speed, the driver engages HYbrid Sport mode, deactivates ESP, presses the brake pedal, engages second gear and accelerates hard, with the petrol engine regulating automatically to 4,000 rpm. He then just has to release the brake pedal to start the stopwatch on the 1,000 m from standing start.

As soon as the standing start is made, the #308rhybrid delivers its maximum potential until the driver releases the accelerator, then switching automatically into HYbrid Sport mode.

To achieve a time of only 4.0s for 0 to 100 km/h, it is essential to transmit the power to the ground by controlling the front wheel skid. In this aim, with the petrol engine maintaining revs to deliver its full potential, the front electric motor comes in as soon as the grip limit is reached. Then functioning as a generator, this electric motor consumes the extra thermal torque and maintains the front wheels at their optimum traction.

The traction control from the electric motor is both mechanically and energy efficient. Through this component, this function requires fewer transmissions and recuperates the extra energy supplied by the petrol engine.

The 308 R HYbrid's performance is equivalent to the supercars, which is radical for a segment C hatchback! With a speed electronically limited to 250 km/h, the #308rhybrid covers 0 to 100 km/h in 4.0s, 400m from standing start in 12.5s and 1,000m from standing start in under 22.5s.

To guarantee flawless dynamic handling in harmony with this performance, the #308rhybrid can count on weight centred and lowered to the max, its four-wheel drive and an efficient design.

The petrol engine and the electric motor work together and both engage on the crown gear. This assembly has the benefit of preventing unwanted movements when changing gear. When the engine torque reduces, the front electric motor comes in to compensate for the drop in torque. The engine stops are therefore kept under constraint during transitory phases. Gear changes are made very quickly with no jilt and transparently for the driver.

The 50 litre fuel tank has now been placed in the boot above the rear electric motor and the two transformers. In their quest for perfection, the #peugeot SPORT engineers have completely redesigned the bottom of the fuel tank so that it sits tightly up against the technical components. The few millimetres thus gained on the vehicle height contribute to its performance.

Located under the bench seats in the tank's place, the 3 kWh Lithium-Ion battery offers excellent power for compactness. The electric motors and inverters are cooled by a dedicated water circuit; The petrol engine's heat is therefore managed independently to guarantee its performance under all circumstances.

The braking system matches performance with, at the front, 380 mm diameter ventilated discs gripped by four pistons from the 308 GTi and, at the rear, 290 mm discs. However, they are not used for all braking.

PEUGEOT SPORT has designed the powertrain to decelerate using the electric motors throughout the full speed range, starting at 250 km/h. In addition to preserving the discs and brake pads, this type of breaking is one of the battery recharging solutions, in addition to the energy transfer in HYbrid or HYbrid Sport mode and connection to a rapid recharging terminal. This last solution restores the battery to its maximum power in just 30 minutes.

The #peugeot #308rhybrid is awe-inspiring proof of the engineers' and designers' talent and of the excellence of the #peugeot 308. A #peugeot is always about motion and emotion.