22 Nov 06
So I'm strapped in, I fire up the engine and it relaxes to a perfectly smooth, road-car idle. Out on to the track and the weight loss is very evident: the LW rockets forward with just a whiff of throttle as the turbocharger spools up to speed. As in the Cooper S, there's very little response lag and the 1.6-litre engine feels more like a supercharged unit, or a normally-aspirated 2.0. Once roused it revs with an enthusiastic blare, a little louder than the road cars will be I suspect.
Power out of the first, long bend and on to the straight. There are just five forward gears here, as there will be in the GTi (the Cooper S has six), and the straight is long enough to make fifth gear useful. Now a narrow slow-down gap through cones and a devilishly tight right-hand hairpin.
The LW gets its power down tidily on the exit, despite the lack of electronic aids, and now through the twists and a long, fast left-hander it reveals what I hope the GTi will be like. The LW is a racing car and is set up accordingly, with springs and dampers calibrated for the lower weight and a friskier tail than might be deemed prudent on the road. But in essence the feel will be similar, I'm told, which means a very keen turn-in and much scope for steering on the throttle once in a bend.
You can get the tail to slither on this damp track if you back off suddenly, in authentic Peugeot GTi fashion, but it's benign and very controllable. The road-going THP 150 gives hints of this but its ESP system, which can't be turned off above 30mph, nips it in the bud. I'm told the GTi's ESP, however, can be fully disabled, so track-day fun beckons.
So that's what I discover on lap one. On lap two I carry more speed on to the straight, decide not to be fazed by the cones and carry on through them at scarcely abated speed. This bravado is unwise, I now discover. The brakes, firm and positive but snatchily over-servoed, lock up with worrying ease and I end up, albeit gently and without damage, in the gravel. Calibration work is still in progress on the brakes, the Peugeot Sport people said earlier, and I can see exactly what they mean.
Brakes aside, the 207 LW is great fun. If it's an accurate pointer to the GTi then we'll be in for a treat. Now, what about a 207 Rallye?
