Peugeot has resurrected the legendary T16 name for a wild, 800bhp-plus hyper-hatch concept previewing the next-generation e-208 - and it could reach production in the coming years.
Inspired by the Group B 205 T16 that twice won the World Rally Championship in the 1980s, the e-T16 is wrapped in extreme bodywork - and its styling previews the new e-208 supermini, which will arrive next year as the first car to feature the French manufacturer's 'Feline Future' design language.
The e-T16 is claimed to have 805bhp and a 0-186mph sprint time of just 16sec.
Peugeot insists the e-T16 is purely conceptual for now, but design director Matthias Hossann told Autocar that "if enough people are interested, we are looking to make it".
"It's a realistic vision, and we are also working with [parent firm] Stellantis technological ingredients to make it happen," he said.
While precise tech details weren't disclosed, the e-T16 is understood to use a heavily upgraded version of the STLA One platform that underpins the new e-208. Its 805bhp output is identical to that of a Formula E racer, but it's unclear whether it features a Stellantis powertrain developed for the electric single-seater series.
Behind the scenes, its designers are working with the PSE team, which runs Peugeot's World Endurance Championship programme and helped to develop the new e-208 GTi hot hatch, on a fully drivable prototype, with a view to homologating it if enough prospective buyers come forward.
Hossann said a priority for any production version of the e-T16 would be to ensure that owners would "be able to drive it on the road, not only a race track".
It would seem a natural rival to French compatriot Renault's rear-wheel-drive, 533bhp 5 Turbo 3E, but Hossann emphasised the differences in conception between the cars: "It's the same logic but it's not the same power. We aren't talking about the same performance, clearly, but what is cool with these kinds of cars is that the hot hatch is coming back."
Underneath its rally-inspired bodywork, the e-T16 concept gives strong clues to the final design of the next e-208, which was earlier previewed by the futuristic Polygon concept.
It's described as slightly larger than the production e-208, which will be around 4.1 metres long, but the general silhouette will reach showrooms largely unchanged. Indeed, Hossann described the e-T16 as a "more than realistic" preview.
The wraparound light bars at each end are a new take on Peugeot's signature 'lion claw' motif, inspired by the grilles on the 205, and will appear on other future models.
Hossann emphasised that the e-T16 concept doesn't signal a plan to move to a more retro design language for future models: "You have some glimpses or some parts that reflect the 205 but without having this obsession of being into retro design."
Instead, the next e-208 will follow corporate tradition, he explained, in that "the 205 and 206 were completely different, then 207 to 208... Every time it's different, but you keep some flavour and graphical elements that keep some connections between them. This was the logic of all Peugeot B-segment cars."
The new e-208 is set to be revealed in its final form early in 2027, before going on sale in the second half of the year as the electric alternative to today's combustion-engined 208, which will be heavily updated at around the same time and continue on sale past 2030.