Peugeot 308 successor scheduled for a 2013 release

Peugeot 301

According to the journalists from Autocar, the successor of the Peugeot 308 will be launched sometime in 2013 and the model will get the 301 designation, not the 309 as you would expect. These are the first photos of the car which were taken in the France and Spain border region and as you’ve probably guessed this already, it’s an early chassis mule that is running the body of a current-generation pre-facelift 308 model.

Just like they did with the upcoming 208, Peugeot will make the replacement of the 308 more elegant and it will have more compact proportions. In addition, the weight of the car will be lowered while the interior will get better materials. The 301 will be available with several 3-cylinder engines.

Peugeot 301

Autocar’s sources have mentioned that the reason why the French automaker will not use the 309 name is because it’s too soon to resurrect it since the last time they’ve used it was in the 90s. As for the 301 name, Peugeot used it the last time in the 30s.

The new model will feature the same platform as the Citroen C4 and DS4, and from these photos we can tell that it will be a little bit wider and shorter than the model it will replace. In addition, the car will probably be lower than the 308.

Peugeot 301

The bad news in my opinion is that Peugeot doesn’t plan on launching a three-door version of the 301. However, the five-door will benefit from a sportier look in order to compensate the absence of a three-door version. The French car maker will release the SW five-door version of the new model, along with a four-door sedan for selected markets.

There won’t be a CC (coupe cabriolet) model of the Peugeot 301 because the automaker plans on launching a retractable hard-top version of the superb RCZ, a vehicle which is based on the current platform of the 308.

The entry-level engine for the Peugeot 308 will probably be a small 1.0-liter turbo unit that develops 100 hp. The car will also be available with new 3-cylinder engines and a few units that will benefit from the e-HDI diesel micro-hybrid technology which will lower the CO2 emissions to less than 100 g/km for most of the variants.

Source: Autocar