Peugeot reveals new WEC hypercar with rear wing and tire changes

Now also with a rear wing: Peugeot presented to the public its radically modified racing car on Monday this week for the remaining races of the 2024 WEC season. The debut of the Peugeot 9X8 2024 will take place on April 21 at the second round of the year. of the World Endurance in Imola, Italy.

The addition of a ‘real’ rear wing is the biggest visible change to the wingless LMH passenger car, which produced its downforce mainly through an adjustable front splitter (according to WEC regulations, only one aero device can be adjusted ) and a large rear transmitter. .

New tires: Peugeot follows the hypercar competition

The design, which is more important from a performance point of view, does not immediately catch the eye: Peugeot engineers followed the path of all eight competitors in the hypercar class and adjusted the dimensions of the 9X8 tire: the car was initially driven with a width of 31 centimeters. Michelin all-round, narrow 29-centimeter tires are now used on the front axle. The width of the tire on the rear axle increases to 34 cm.

To achieve a better aerodynamic balance with the new tire compound, according to Peugeot technical director Olivier Jansonnie, 90 percent of the body parts were redesigned and the rear wing was added. The previous chassis remains, but had to be replaced again. Jansonnie: “For the tires to work effectively, we had to change the center of gravity of the Peugeot 9X8, which meant we had to relocate some components and make others lighter.”

New Peugeot development from March 2023

Peugeot had already made the decision in March 2023 to technically modify its hypercar and bring it into line with current regulations. Since then, the car has covered several thousand kilometers in test drives. At the WEC season opener in Qatar, the former 9X8 contested its final race and was in second place with the #93 (Jean-Eric Vergne/Nico Müller/Mikkel Jensen) until the play-off, when Vergne ran out of fuel.

In Qatar, Peugeot also benefited from a good balance of performance and the lightest car (1,030 kg and therefore the lowest weight) in the entire supercar grid. Nothing is known yet about the classification of Imola and beyond. Since this season, those involved in the ACO and the FIA ​​have allowed themselves to adjust the BoP before each race. It will not be surprising if the updated Peugeot is initially estimated conservatively.

Peugeot as a victim of changes in the law

Since the start of the Monza 2022 race, the factory Peugeots have had only a small level of competition in the fight against the big cars from Toyota and Ferrari as well as LMDh cars from Porsche, Cadillac and Co. This was due to timing. : already in November Peugeot announced its return to the WEC in 2019 and announced the construction of a super car for Le Mans in September 2020.

Only: At this early stage it was not yet finally decided that there would be an international regulation between WEC organizer ACO and IMSA, which would be a joint race between Le Mans Hypercars (LMH) and Le Mans Daytona hybrid -Racing cars (LMDh). ) is possible. Toyota was able to react in time with the GR010 hypercar, which has been in use since 2021, and adjust the tire specifications for the 2022 season.

WEC 2024 calendar – races, start times, routes

Initially, the 2020/21 regulations specified that LMH cars could use their temporary all-wheel drive from a speed of 120 km / h, and after that Peugeot focused on its development and tire specifications. However, with the addition of LMDh cars, which have only rear-wheel drive, the window changed several times: Recently in Qatar, Peugeot was allowed to turn on an electric car on the front axle from 150 km / h – Toyota, Ferrari. and newcomer Isotta Fraschini were only allowed to do so from then on up to 190 km/h.

Further changes to the original low weight (1,030 instead of 1,080 kg) and power (680 instead of 795 hp) ensured that the Peugeot was developed to exceed the new requirements of the regulations before the first race and had the difficulty of pulling with the necessary tires. -Management.

Jansonnie: “The difference in performance is not balanced enough”

“We made decisions that have not been renewed and this performance difference has not been properly compensated by the BoP in 2023,” technical director Jansonnie said. “The idea was to go back to the same car design as our competitors so it can be treated equally at the BoP.” Peugeot, a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieved its first and only podium finish in Monza in 2023 and finished only fifth in the overall standings behind world champion Toyota.

“The Peugeot 9X8 was originally developed for the 2020/2021 regulations, when LMHs had to have the same size tires front and rear,” explained Stellantis Motorsport boss Jean-Marc Finot. “Since then, regulations have changed to allow some of our competitors to fit larger tires in the rear. We thought the BoP would be enough to compensate for our structural disadvantage, but it wasn’t.”

Finot continued: “Our simulations and the first test drives have shown that the car is more powerful. So we expect to remain in the top group with low weight and high power, but without coming close to the BOP limit.” At the same time, Peugeot used a new development to correct the fading of the 9X8: From now on, the heraldic animal of the brand, the lion, seems to be more prominent.

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