Peugeot to axe classic GTi badge

13th November 2009

Say it ain’t so! After 25 years of cut-price thrills, Peugeot is sending the GTi badge to the breakers. The once-potent symbol of hot-hatch performance will see out its days on the boot of the current 207 GTi, before being consigned to the spares bin for the foreseeable future.

Although the standard supermini is doing well in the showrooms, only 490 GTis were sold last year. So now, Peugeot is switching its performance focus to the Audi TT-rivalling RCZ coupé. A spokesman told us that the famous badge “doesn’t fit with what we are doing right now, although there is scope for its return in the future”.

Peugeot originally borrowed the logo from the Golf GTI, which VW launched nine years earlier in 1975. However, the hot version of the 205 hatch soon proved worthy of the badge, especially once the 130bhp 1.9-litre variant was launched. A true pocket-rocket, the featherweight 205 GTi rewarded hard driving while punishing the unwary, adding to its mystique.

Having established the benchmark, Peugeot went on to apply the badge to a succession of searing hot hatches. The 309 handled superbly without losing any excitement, while the tiny 106 GTi’s forgiving chassis dealt ably with the 120bhp served up by its revvy 16v 1.6-litre engine.

The 306 GTi-6 from 1997 thrilled with its near-perfect handling balance, although increasing regulations on safety and equipment meant that it was bulkier and less nimble than its predecessors.

However, in the past 10 years the crown has been lost to rivals such as the Renaultsport Clio, while the 206 and 207 failed to capture the original GTi spirit. Hopes were raised by the exciting rally-based 207 RCup, but it was never translated into a production model.

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