The Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar will make its racing debut at the Six Hours of Monza in July, according to Peugeot.
Peugeot has announced the debut of its 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar at the 6 Hours of Monza, as well as Kevin Magnussen’s replacement.
The team has also revealed the livery and final design of the rear wing-less car, which takes advantage of the World Endurance Championship’s (WEC) Hypercar regulations, which allow for more design freedom.
The 9X8 was expected to compete at Le Mans this year, but Peugeot decided to postpone its debut in order to continue development. Due to homologation requirements, the car’s essential design is frozen after its competitive debut.
Now that the French squad is ready, it has shown the car in the livery it will wear at Monza for the fifth round of the World Endurance Championship this year, joining Toyota and Glickenhaus in the Hypercar ranks. It will compete against Ferrari’s Hypercar project, as well as LMDh automobiles from Porsche, Cadillac, and BMW, next year (if the latter runs at Le Mans).
Two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne, 2013 Le Mans winner Loc Duval, grand prix driver Paul Di Resta, Gustavo Menezes, Mikkel Jensen, and James Rossiter will race the car in place of Kevin Magnussen, who will return to Formula One with Haas this season.
When the original concept was unveiled, much was made of the car’s lack of a rear wing, and the Peugeot’s aerodynamic idea has remained essentially unchanged. Externally, the 9X8 now has two rear winglets, a longer front splitter, and rearranged headlights, but it otherwise looks the same.
“With this regulation you are not limited by some shape of the car you have, as long as you’re in the window drag / downforce coefficient stipulated, you have more freedom of design, which is why we have done this,” said VP of Stellantis motor sport Jean-Marc Finot.
The car will be powered by a 2.6-litre V6 hybrid twin-turbo engine, with a 671bhp petrol engine driving the rear wheels and a 268bhp electric motor driving the front.
“What’s really important is that the 9X8 and Peugeot Sport really encompasses the three values of Peugeot,” said Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson.
“A fantastic, nonconventional, really bold design; emotion… there is nothing more exciting than racing and excellence.”
“What better way to show the excellence quality of our engineering than being able to get through 24 hours endurance in extreme conditions? It all aligns perfectly.”
Rossiter appears to have a chance to show that he is deserving of a full-time position at Monza. Peugeot has not confirmed whether he will continue to be in the lineup after that race.
