Peugeot has announced that it will be competing in the eight-round calendar of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship which concludes with the historic Le Mans 24 Hours. The company says they’ll be participating in the newly-created Le Mans Hypercar class which means an exciting road-going hypercar is in the pipeline.
But before we dive into that, here’s a quick look at the new top-tier class of the World Endurance Championship. Firstly, this isn’t an all-new racing category but rather replaces the existing LMP1 class. Secondly, there’s a racing formula, like any other championship, and that’s where things get interesting.
The rules dictate that any team taking part in Le Man Hypercar class must field a prototype racecar that’s homologated under an automotive marque, meaning 20 road-going examples have to be built. Furthermore, the cars must adhere to a minimum weight restriction of 1040kg with a fixed power output of 560kW – of which no more than 200kW can be generated by the hybrid component. Lastly, there’s a limitation on the number of personnel permitted per team.
With Peugeot throwing its name into the hat, we can expect the French marque to be debuting their first-ever hypercar. However, Peugeot isn’t alone in this endeavor as they’ve joined forces with championship-winning Rebellion Racing. After a decade’s hiatus, the Lion is set to roar once more.
"The Peugeot brand’s passion for motorsport has always played a core role in achieving the many victories we have scored in our history. The changes that the FIA WEC is introducing fit now with the transition we are undergoing ourselves with the electrification of our range and the launch of high-performance products, developed in close association with PSA Motorsport and foreshadowed by the Concept 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered. These initiatives are completely in tune with Peugeot’s ‘Motion and E-motion’ brand signature" said Peugeot Brand Director Jean-Philippe Imparato.
Peugeot and Rebellion Racing haven’t said much about their upcoming car’s powertrain and we expect more details on that to surface soon. Stay tuned to this space. For more information on Peugeot, please visit our Showroom.
