FEATURE PEUGEOT 908
theory of evolution Peugeot 908
The
How the French manufacturer optimised everything from its old car, married it to a new engine and produced a winner
By Sam Collins
manufacturer developed a diesel coupé and took on Audi, winning at Le Mans in 2009, an event that served as a catalyst to the board agreeing to fund the build of a new car. With the button pressed and the rules
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outlined early by the ACO, Peugeot began work immediately. The fi rst engine ran on the dyno barely six months later, on 25
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www.racecarengineering.com • August 2011
eugeot’s return to endurance racing, 14 years after it won at Le Mans in 1993, heralded the start of a new era of Sportscar racing. The French
January 2010. The programme progressed quickly after that, the fi rst track test being last July, with the car’s race debut made at Sebring in March this year. Unfortunately, so good was the
previous 908 that, in customer hands, the French ORECA team was victorious at the US event but, at Spa in May, the new 908 found its true form, and fi nished fi rst and second in its fi rst encounter with Audi. This was a crucial result, for political
pressure on the team is huge, particularly after what happened last year, when Peugeot had the speed to win at Le Mans,
but lacked the reliability to deliver the result. As a result, when Peugeot’s director of sport, Olivier Quesnel, went to ask for a budget to continue this year, the board made their position very clear: ‘What happened at Le Mans last year, the board said no problem to carry on, but we want to be sure that we can win,’ recalled the Frenchman. And with the new 908, Peugeot
has done just that, setting a winning precedent with a car that the team hope will see it through the next three years, before new regulations are introduced
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