The Peugeot 9X8 is a hybrid, wingless endurance race car

Peugeot has revealed details of the new 9X8, its latest-generation hypercar which is set to make its competitive debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2022.

Powered by hybrid technology and featuring all-wheel drive, the new 9X8 hypercar showcases Peugeot’s Neo-Performance strategy, and is a product of the latest collaboration between the French carmaker's Sport and Design divisions.  

A twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter V6 engine powers the race car, which is good for 680hp. The engine assists a hybrid powertrain, as the front axle is driven by a 200kW electric motor, which is driven by a 900-volt battery that was co-developed by Peugeot Sport and TotalEnergies.

Another highlight of the 9X8 is its lack of a rear wing. That's a feature that creates downforce in fast cars, in order to make them grip the road better.

“The absence of a rear wing on the 9X8 is a major innovative step. We have achieved a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that allows us to do away with this feature," Stellantis Motorsport Director Jean-Marc Finot said. 

"Don’t ask how, though! We have every intention of keeping that a secret as long as we possibly can,” Finot expressed. 

The “X” in 9X8 refers to the Peugeot's all-wheel drive technology and hybrid powertrain, which embodies the brand’s electrification strategy in motor racing and its production vehicles. 

Peugeot said it will provide a fully electrified variant across its passenger car and van range by 2025.

Familiar design cues from the French carmaker are seen in the 9X8’s front and rear lighting signatures, which take the form of three claw-like strokes. The brand’s new lion’s head logo is on the front and sides of the car.

The Selenium Grey and contrasting Kryptonite Acid green/yellow highlights, featured on both the body and inside the cockpit, echo the color scheme chosen for the new Peugeot Sport Engineered line, introduced first on the 508 (below) and 508 SW.

 

The 9X8 is described as featuring sculpted wheels that contribute to the balanced lines of the sharply-structured flanks. The wing vents reveal the top of the tires and the perfectly-integrated mirrors contribute to the car’s aerodynamics.

As for the interior, design director Matthias Hossann described it this way: “Inside, we wanted to take a special approach to the cockpit which, until now, has tended to be a purely functional and indistinctive aspect of racing cars, with no brand identity whatsoever.

The combination of our color scheme and i-Cockpit interior styling signature has provided the 9X8’s cockpit with a distinctive feel and make it immediately identifiable as a Peugeot." 

The 9X8 is a direct successor to the 905, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1992 and 1993, and the 908, which won the racing series in 2009, Peugeot said.

Photos from Peugeot

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