A picture is worth a thousand words. The team from the Peugeot factory in Mulhouse poses with the manufactured body of the first prototype of the future P54 model. An internal code corresponding to the third body variant that will be added to the 308 range in 2023 with a more sporty look.
The León brand has confirmed what we have been telling you in the last year that, for the first time, the new generation of the compact would increase the family with a third bodywork completely unpublished, known until now for its internal development code, that of «P54». A completely official confirmation that comes from the factory that the French brand has in Mulhouse, France.
Managers of Stellantis and the French factory itself have posed in a truly unique image, with the first bodywork manufactured, and painted, of this third model that we know as Peugeot 308 Cross. The French firm has decided to put aside the sportier versions and focus on electrification at the highest level, a commitment that it has deployed in the new generation of the 308.
The P54 project corresponds to that of the Peugeot 308 Cross
The future 308 Cross will follow the same design line as the new representative of the C segment. At least, ahead, because it will be one of the new crossovers developed on the EMP2v4 platform, a more sporty format. A design that we have exclusively anticipated recreations and that it will not vary excessively, standing out especially for a roof line that will decay with more force from the rear doors.
A crossover coupe in every rule is what is brewing, and in which Peugeot has the complicated mission of not meddling in the field of SUVs. For this reason, the future model will have a small increase in the distance from the body to the ground, a few millimeters more than a conventional passenger car, adding a large tailgate and a large trunk volume, whose practicality and versatility will be conditioned by the greater curvature of the roof line in the final span.
The latest information does not indicate changes in the commercial launch of the new Peugeot 308 Cross that, for now, the brand will only consider gasoline and diesel engines, with no possibility of opting for the plug-in hybrid. Therefore, the plans are maintained for its presentation next spring, starting production in the aforementioned factory in Mulhouse from October 2022 and put on sale before the end of the year, although its units will arrive in the first quarter of 2023.