Oh no! We might not see any more Peugeot Sport Engineered road cars

Peugeot is really rather good at making hot hatchbacks. And we’re not just talking about in ye olde times with cars like the 205 GTI, the 205 T16, the 205 Rallye and the 106 Rallye – the recent 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport was extremely good indeed.

And yet, in the current lineup the only Peugeot with any hint of sportiness is the flagship 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered, and even that is a weighty plug-in hybrid. So, is the French firm working on any other Peugeot Sport Engineered cars to satisfy us enthusiasts? Erm, no…

“Right now, we’ve stopped at the 508,” Peugeot boss Linda Jackson tells TG. “It gives us the ability to have a flagship and be able to make the link [between road and racing]. Who knows what might happen in the future, but right now to be honest with you my biggest priority is to launch electric vehicles. I never say no to the future, but that’s my focus right now.”

What a shame. A new 208 PSE could be a riotous little hot hatch, or how about a 308 PSE as a proper Volkswagen Golf GTI rival? Or perhaps if electric vehicles are the priority, maybe Peugeot could launch an e-208 PSE as an electric hot hatch? Well, it doesn’t look like that will happen either.

“I’m not promising yes and I’m not promising no,” says Jackson on the EV PSE subject. “But we have to see where it goes. Right now, I need to make sure that I prioritise where my volume and profit opportunities are because this is all about that business, and let’s be honest 508 PSE is a great image-maker, but it’s a limited segment. We have to find the right opportunities.

“Who knows what will happen, but there’s no doubt if we were to do something in the future it would obviously have to be integrated into our electrification strategy. But we have no plans at the moment.”

So, come on then TG commenters – what should Peugeot do with its PSE badge?