While an official announcement is awaited, the Sport director at Peugeot has hinted that a series of luxury, elite SUVs are coming from the brand with its popular GTi badge.

Bruno Famin was highly confident throughout the meet and he did accept that there is a huge demand for crossover SUVs in Europe. He is betting high on the Peugeot 2008 GTi and added that the model is going to be the brand strategy in the following months.

“The 2008 is our world car and it has already experienced enough success in the racing segment. The Dakar is doing really good. It has grown in size ever since its launch and the same is going to help us promote the SUV into the mainstream market. The vehicle has created a positive image for the brand and our team will strive to keep up the good name,” said Famin.

The upcoming 2008 GTi is being designed and built based on the success rendered by the 208 and the 308. The GTi series have proven to be positive for the Peugeot brand. During the press show, the company showcased a series of rendered images which gave us a glimpse of how the car could look like. The design elements on the car is extremely impressive made possible by the large alloys, chunk sized bumpers and flared arches. It is powered by a turbocharged petrol engine which is mated to a manual gearbox. The car uses a front wheel drive system and the brand strongly believes that there is no need for an upgrade.

Famin said that the team which worked on developing the new Peugeot 2008 GTi firmly believed that there is no need to use a four-wheel drive system for it. The platform on which the 2008 is being built favors two-wheel drive and they have decided to keep it that way so that it doesn’t hinder with the overall design.

“We are sure that when the customer drives the car, they will hardly notice the difference. The torque and performance rendered by a four-wheel drive can easily be experienced in the 2008 GTi even though it doesn’t use it. The results will be evident in fuel efficiency and performance. It will work smooth in every conditions,” he added.

Project designers at Peugeot commented that he is glad to see the company heading in the right direction and the brand is ready to take necessary risks to stay ahead in the competition.