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Peugeot hot hatch fans have no cause for concern. There will definitely be a 207 GTi. Its specification is already well-known, and it will go on sale some time next year. It's just that this particular car isn't it. Not quite, anyway.
The 207 GT THP 150 - some considerable distance from being the most elegantly-named car Peugeot has ever devised - is mechanically a very close relation to the forthcoming GTi. Both cars share the same turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine developed by PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW, and already found in the MINI Cooper S. (The two companies shared the project more or less equally, though Peugeot is keen to stress that all the parts are built at its factory in Douvrin, and BMW simply assembles its engines from parts that are shipped over to the Hams Hall plant.)
The Cooper S engine produces 175bhp, and so will the one in the 207 GTi. The GT THP uses a 150bhp derivative, which differs from the 175 in that it uses different ECU mapping and doesn't have an intercooler. But it still makes this the fastest 207 so far.
The key features of this engine are its direct fuel injection and the use of a twin-scroll turbocharger. Let's not get into a big discussion about what that sentence means - the important effects are that the GT THP is decently economical (40.3mpg on the combined cycle) and almost entirely lacking in turbo lag. There is no long wait for the compressor to spin up to operating speed; in fact, the turbo is already starting to provide boost from 1000rpm, and its maximum torque of 177lb/ft - not, as you may read elsewhere, 240, which is the correct figure in Newton metres - is produced between 1400 and 3500rpm.
To achieve the 150bhp maximum power you have to rev the engine to 5800rpm, and on a track day you would no doubt do just that. On the road there's little need to bother. The fact that pressing the throttle pedal produces a strong response at much lower engine speeds is much more important, and in fact you can make damn good progress without taking the revcounter needle anywhere near the red line.
by David Finlay (16 Nov 06)
Source: Carkeys.co.uk |
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