If the predecessors 306 and 307 formed, by their imposing number of silhouettes, large families, the tribe of the new Peugeot 308 will have only three members: a 5-door sedan, a SW station wagon and a new P54 crossover. We imagined what the rest of the siblings could have been like.
The third generation of the Peugeot 308 is available in the form of a five-door sedan (project P51) and a 308 SW station wagon (known internally as the P52). Next year, a new crossover (study P54) which should take the name Peugeot 4008 and will be manufactured in Mulhouse will finalize the offer. But there will be nothing more.
TO READ. Peugeot 4008 (2022). First info and photo of the P54 Crossover
This rationalization of silhouettes sponsored by Carlos Tavares, the boss of Stellantis, aims to better target the demands of the various world markets while keeping development costs to a minimum. This economic strategy has not prevented us fromimagine what could have been the other silhouettes of the Peugeot 308 … as at the time of its predecessors Peugeot 306, 307 and 308 Mk1 and Mk2, which multiplied the number of their bodies.
When the 308 is packed
![illustration Peugeot 308 with trunk 4-door version](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-4-portes-profil.jpg)
To start with a four-door Peugeot 308, virtual rival of the Renault Mégane Sedan marketed in Eastern Europe, the Maghreb and the Persian Gulf countries, but not in France! This heir to the Peugeot 306 and the unsightly trunk Peugeot 307 could very well have taken over from the Peugeot 408 developed for China.
TO READ. Peugeot 408: a 308 with trunk for the Chinese market
“To be statutory, this 308 Sedan would be based on the extended wheelbase of the station wagon and would also benefit from its increased rear overhang.“
With a template of 4.64 m long, the 308 “Sedan” would have embodied the perfect little sister of the Peugeot 508 (4.75 m). In any case, this dynamic and elegant silhouette would have ventured without any complex on a playground which unfortunately remains today the preserve of premium brands. The Audi A3 Sedan, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé and other Mercedes CLA and Class A Sedan bear witness to this. Peugeot, which wishes to approach the premium world as closely as possible, would also be legitimate with this 308 with trunk.
TO READ. Renault Mégane Sedan: photos of the Mégane that we don’t have …
Neither GTI nor PSE: no sport on the program
![illustration Peugeot 308 3 doors](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-3-portes.jpg)
![illustration Peugeot 308 PSE](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-pse-1280x853-wm_3.jpg)
When we think of the Peugeot 306 S16, beyond its six-speed gearbox, it is its three-door silhouette that immediately comes to mind. A new 308 with as many openings, with a more sporty profile via a more inclined rear quarter panel inspired us. It could have been the perfect setting for a GTi variant. We were more realistic with the high performance hybrid version, Peugeot 308 PSE, for a time considered, obviously with a five-door body.
TO READ. New Peugeot 308. Unsurprisingly, there will be no sports car PSE
![Peugeot 308 cabriolet hybrid illustration by X-Tomi](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-cabriolet-x-tomi.jpg)
This 308 wattée and bodybuilder will never see the light of day. Another regret while we’re at it: that of a Peugeot 308 Cabriolet. The formula is also not in tune with the times. Today, to get fresh air behind the wheel, you have to climb aboard an SUV. Here is the realization of the Hungarian designer X-Tomi, who offers an open-air version with a retractable rigid roof, which makes the silhouette unsightly, but in canvas, as in the days of the Peugeot 306 Cabriolet designed by Pininfarina.
Peugeot 308 RCZ: the anti TT, also eclipsed
Presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007, the Peugeot 308 RCZ prototype became in the range in 2010 the Peugeot RCZ in short. The sports coupe with the double dented roof was aesthetically and technically related to the family of the first generation of the Peugeot 308. We envisioned a second version of the ideal rival of the Audi TT, built on the new Peugeot 308. A silhouette that will never see the light of day either. It is the market which imposes it. Indeed, the TT will also bow out after three generations and will have no replacement. Sad fate.
TO READ. The Peugeot 308 RCZ and the Audi TT
308 SW: the station wagon in all its forms
![Peugeot 308 RXH photomontage illustration](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-rxh-av-wm_1.jpg)
![illustration Peugeot 308 SW Shooting Brake](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/peugeot-308-shooting-brake-profil.jpg)
We did not leave the 308 SW station wagon alone in its corner. Argus imagined a high legged RXH adventurer variant with Dangel all-wheel drive. It will not have a future at Peugeot, but Opel will seize the opportunity to complete the panoply of its new Astra with an exclusive Astra Country Tourer variant in 2024.
Finally, in a completely different register, we unsheathed this Peugeot 308 Shooting Brake in homage to the eponymous Peugeot 306 presented in 1999 to serve as a showcase for the HDI Diesel engine. A very beautiful car designed at the time by Nicolas Brissonneau, who is none other than the author of the lines of the Peugeot e-Legend, the undisputed star of the Paris Motor Show in 2018. The man is today he is responsible for artistic design and exterior styling for the lion brand.
TO READ. Peugeot 308 SW RXH. The lion dreamed of the adventurer station wagon, Opel is thinking about it!