Peugeot Begins Testing New 208 Rally Car in France

Peugeot'sPeugeotFrance, 1882 > present120 models
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7 videos
rally history has been spotty but rather successful. It launched its factory-backed Group B 205 Turbo 16 in 1984 and won the contructors' championship in 1985 and 1986, and when Group B was banned, it won the Dakar Rally from 1987 to 1990. The Peugeot 206Peugeot 206 WRCFrance, 2002 > present1 photo
was also successful, and now Peugeot is starting the development of the 208Peugeot 208 Gen.1France, 2012 > present103 versions
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as a rally car. The new 208 R2 will act as the 'zero' car that goes through the course first during the Tour de Corse rally on May 10-12. 

Power for the R2 comes from a modified version of Peugeot's 1.6 VTi engine with 185hp. The cars will come with engines that have already been built, run-in and checked on a dyno. The gearbox is completely new compared to the 207Peugeot 207France, 2006 > present190 versions
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RC Rallye. It is a five-speed, sequential unit. It is equipped with cooling fins, and the front air dam directs air to the transmission. The body of the 208 R2 is 40kg lighter than previous 207, and it has a lower center of gravity. The car comes with a multi-point roll cage. To lower vehicle cost, the R2 has lower fuel consumption thanks to its lower weight. It uses the same Öhlins suspension as found in the 207 RC Rallye. As opposed to the road car's electricmechanical steering system, the R2 has switched to hydraulic power steering for better feedback. The brakes, clutch and wheels are spec units dictated by racing regulations. 

Stéphane Sarrazin and co-driver Benjamin Veillas will drive the 208 R2 as the zero car during the IRC Tour de Corse Rally. The two of them will not be competing, but the car will sweep the track first to clean it for subsequent cars and make sure the stage is ready to use.  

The R2 is meant as an entry-level rally car for motorsports customers. The R2 class is the FIA's new name for the S1600 class. The cars are fitted with naturally aspirated engines with a base weight of 1030kg. The car will also be used in Peugeot's Volant single-make racing series.

Peugeot says that it has been developing the rally version of the car since the car's announcement in 2011. it is already developing two other motorsports versions of the 208 that will debut before the end of the year including a version for circuit racing. The final version of competition 208 that Peugeot will reveal in September will comply with the FIA's R5 regulations, and this version will take the place of of the 207 Super 2000 rally car.

The R2 will be available as either a €37,500 kit to be added to a 208, or it can be purchased fully built for €57,500. Peugeot will also offer further kits to convert the car from gravel to asphalt specifications and vice versa. Deliveries will begin in November