Car Fule

This should make the WEC, the World Endurance Championship, even more interesting. A newcomer is likely to redistribute the cards. This one is French. Peugeot today unveils the one that will appear in the paddocks from 2022: the Peugeot 9X8 !

9X8: a well-thought-out name

Under this somewhat “futuristic” name, the Peugeot 9X8 actually lives up to its name. According to the manufacturer, the 9 refers to the competition vehicles of the Lion brand, such as the Peugeot 905 (1990-1993) and 908 (2007-2011), two iconic machines in Endurance.

The X evokes the four-wheel drive (4WD) and hybridization technologies found in the new Hypercar.

Finally, the 8 corresponds to the number which punctuates all the contemporary appellations of Peugeot.

Hybrid powertrain

Peugeot had already let some information slip by. Especially with regard to its engine. Unsurprisingly, it’s good a hybrid powertrain which will equip this future 9X8.

The thermal part of this prototype is provided by a 2.6-liter twin-turbo V6 engine with 680 hp – the maximum limit of the WEC Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) category – placed at the rear of the car. 200kW electric motor / generator will be placed at the front. The whole will be connected to a 7-speed sequential gearbox.

A scalpel design

The new regulation of the LMH category, replacing the traditional category of LMP1, offers more freedom and flexibility. Therefore, the engineers and designers of PSE did not pray on this Peugeot 9X8. The hypercar is nasty, aggressive and even threatening with its tense and fluid lines at the same time. The fenders are perforated and the exterior mirrors positioned so that the car’s aero is not impacted.

Designer optics take over the brand’s DNA both front and rear. Not to mention the neo-backlit logo and this fluorescent gray / green-yellow color, again typical of the new Peugeot Sport Engineered entity.

Linda Jackson, CEO of Peugeot, underlines the work carried out on this French prototype: ”JI know the quality of work and innovation of the Peugeot Design and Peugeot Sport teams, but I must admit that they surprised me with this magnificent 9X8: thus combining a powerful brand identity, and such a fluid and innovative, it’s just brilliant. »

Innovative aerodynamics?

But where this future Peugeot 9X8 stands out, it is especially at the level of its rear part. While most Endurance prototypes have a large spoiler, the Lion brand is betting on removing this part. An almost unthinkable fact when you know that the rear spoiler – introduced for the first by Chaparral on his 2F in 1967 – is still essential today.

Obviously, the choice is considered as explained by Olivier Jansonnie, Technical Director of the WEC program at Peugeot: “ The regulations allow us to have a single adjustable aerodynamic element, without it being specified that it must be the rear spoiler. Our calculations and simulations have shown that we can perform very well without a rear spoiler. »

See you in 2022 for the first real laps of the wheel of this Peugeot 9X8. With the ambition to do as well as its elders …

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