Peugeot is celebrating its 210th anniversary this week and is adding luster to that fact with the unveiling of a new version of the 508. The 508 PSE baptized sportsman heralds a new chapter for Peugeot Sport.
We had to wait a while, but more than a year and a half after the unveiling of the Peugeot 508 Sport Engineered Concept, the production version is finally ready. It bears the letters PSE, which stands for Peugeot Sport Engineered. That name was in a way already used with the concept version and the PSE designation is of course also related to the fact that Peugeot Sport has recently been given a new look. Sporty Peugeots now get PSE after their name and with that the famous GTI designation seems to disappear into the background. That may depend on the drivetrain. After all, the 508 PSE is a sporty plug-in hybrid, so who knows, the PSE typing may be reserved for (partly) electric sports versions for the time being, and the addition GTI will remain reserved for the crack noses equipped with combustion engines. Peugeot CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato suggested earlier this year at least that the GTI designation will continue to exist alongside it for the time being.
Hybrid power
Enough about the name, time for the car. If the 508 PSE, which incidentally appears as Berline and as SW, is a harbinger of the degree of sportiness that we can expect from other Peugeots, then it looks good. The new top version of the 508 has a blown 200 hp 1.6 that works together with two electric motors, one per axle. Together, this is good for a system power of 360 hp and 520 Nm. This makes it the most powerful street-legal series production Peugeot ever. The power is sent to all four wheels or two wheels by means of an eight-speed automatic transmission, depending on the driving mode selected. To steer the power in the right direction, the 508 PSE is equipped with a modified chassis, adjustable shock absorbers and larger brake discs.
According to Peugeot, the 508 PSE Sedan goes from 0-100 km / h in Sport mode in just 5.2 seconds. The party ends at 250 km / h. All in all, this makes the model very powerful and fast for Peugeot standards. The joke, of course, is that you can also drive it purely electrically with a calm right foot. According to Peugeot, it is possible to travel 42 km with the fully charged 11.5 kWh battery.
Appearance
Of course the party wouldn’t be complete without some external adjustments. After all, you want your sporty 508 to be distinguishable from the lease version of your neighbor across the street. The 508 PSE may not shout it from the roofs, but it is still clearly visible that this is something special. We see a dark adapted grille, thicker front and rear bumper work, side skirts and two thick chutes at the rear. Under the car, new 20-inch alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires shine around them.
The yellow / green of PSE returns to details both on the outside and in the interior. For example, the brake calipers are painted in that color scheme, but also the inserts in the front bumper. In the interior, we see the color in the stitching on the leather and Alcantara-covered sports seats, in the instruments, the PSE logo on the sills and of course also on the emblem on the steering wheel. The 508 PSE will be available in three colors: Perla Nera Black, Pearl White and Selenium Gray.
The Peugeot 508 PSE will be available to dealers in the first half of 2021, but can already be ordered in October of this year. Prices will be announced in the run-up to the introduction.