Peugeot has announced its return to Pikes Peak at the end of June with the 208 T16 Pikes Peak car, a lightweight, mid-engined, four-wheel drive rally machine. Car enthusiasts of a certain age will recall the Peugeot 205 T16, built for Group B rallying, which featured a similar mechanical layout. Sébastien Loeb will drive the car designed to take advantage of the 'Unlimited' class rules for the event.
Exterior
There probably aren't any shared parts between the T16 and the road going Peugeot 208 but the general outline is the same. On the roof there is a large air intake to ensure the engine gets enough air as the car approaches the 4,301-metre summit. To help the T16 get up the hill as quickly as possible there are some not-so-subtle aerodynamic add-ons including a big chin spoiler and a rear wing from the 908 HDI FAP Le Mans car. According to the press release, the only reason for selecting the two-metre wide rear wing was that Peugeot didn't have anything wider in stock!
Interior
No room for creature comforts in order to get the weight down to 875kg. There isn't even a dashboard, just a digital display cable-tied to the tubular frame.
Mechanicals
It isn't just the rear wing that comes from Peugeot's Le Mans car; much of the running gear is based on that of the endurance racer. Brakes and suspension are based on the 908 with double wishbones all round and carbon brake disks front and rear.
Power is supplied by a 3.2-litre, bi-turbo V6 mounted amidships. Maximum power is 875hp, or one horsepower for every kilogram of weight, which is transmitted through a six-speed sequential gearbox to all four wheels. The 0-100km/h time is given as 1.8 seconds, and though top speed is only 240km/h it only takes seven seconds to get there.
Anything else?
This isn't the first time Peugeot has entered the Pikes Peak hill climb with a mid-engined car that looks like one of its road-going models. In 1988 Ari Vatanen set a new record while driving the infamous Peugeot 405 T16 GR.