Peugeot at Le Mans: V10, HDi, three victories, joys and tears

905

The shift in the 1990s coincides for Peugeot at the launch of its program in Endurance. THE rally, with the 205 T16, belonging to ancient history, all the efforts of the Peugeot Talbot Sport division are focused on the development of a gasoline prototype.

Headed by the essential André de Cortanze and Robert Choulet, the 905 project was presented to the public in July 1990. The chassis, in carbon fiber, was made with the help of Dassault. The cockpit is closed and the grille has the typical design of mass-produced Lion cars.

But it's under the hood where the magic happens. There is a 10-liter naturally aspirated V3,5 made of light alloy and placed at 80 degrees. This develops nearly 700 horsepower (the figures vary on this point) for a total weight of less than 800 kg! 

Music lovers are in heaven: 

The 905, however, proved unreliable during its first outings at the end of 1990. Jean Todt, the boss of Peugeot Talbot Sport, used these World Sports Car Championship (WSC) races as full-scale tuning sessions. .

In 1991, the Evo 1 appeared. Speed ​​is there unlike reliability. Keke Rosberg, Yannick Dalmas and Pierre-Henri Raphanel lead the race after an hour of effort at Le Mans (Sarthe), but retire before midnight, just like the sister car entrusted to Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Philippe Alliot and Mauro Baldi .

A year later, the 901 received the Evo 1B. And there, it’s no longer the same lemonade! The round headlights replace the triangular optics, the aerodynamics are revised with the addition of a lower plane on the rear wing and the mechanics hold up. 

The Toyota et autres Mazda sont reléguées au second plan, tant le trio Yannick Dalmas, Derek Warwick et Mark Blundell est efficace. Ils occupent la tête de la troisième heure jusqu’à l’arrivée ! Jabouille-Baldi-Alliot terminent sur la troisième marche du podium. Le sacre est presque total.

In 1993, the golden age of WSC was no more. Only the Toyotas try to keep up, in vain. In addition, Peugeot is introducing a third 905 on the entry list. 

Bingo, it will be her who pockets the bet at Le Mans, with Éric Hélary, Christophe Bouchut and Geoff Brabham. And one, and two, and three 905s on the podium, since Boutsen-Dalmas-Fabi and Alliot-Baldi-Jabouille accompany their teammates. Peugeot withdrew at the end of the year, the objective of victory having been doubly acquired.

908 HDi DPF

In the mid-2000s, diesel was the fashion. Audi imposed it with its LM P1 prototype, the R10, in 2006, ahead of the petrol Pescarolos. Peugeot, inventor of the particulate filter (FAP), sees Endurance as the ideal place to communicate around this technology, especially since France is a market addicted to diesel.

The 908 HDi FAP is designed by Italian Paolo Catone and uses a massive V12 turbo, with a displacement of 5,5 liters. It develops between 700 and 800 horsepower according to the regulations for an immense torque of 1 Nm. 

As with the 905, the first campaign serves as a break-in, even if the  24 Hours of Le Mans 2007 ended in second place (Sébastien Bourdais-Pedro Lamy-Stéphane Sarrazin), although 10 laps behind the winning Audi R10. 

En 2008, c’est surtout la stratégie et l’expérience du Mans qui fera la différence. En dépit d’une pole position, le Lion s’incline face aux Anneaux lors d’une nuit pluvieuse et mieux gérée par les troupes allemandes. Cette édition est marquée par l’envol de Marc Gené durant les essais dans les virages Porsche, heureusement sans gravité : 

The third attempt is the right one. While the new Audi R15 suffers from numerous reliability problems, the 908 is reaching maturity. Three examples are entered, and fans are hoping for success from the native of the country, Sébastien Bourdais.

However, it is the most cosmopolitan crew that wins: the Spaniard Marc Gené, the Austrian Alexander Wurz and the New Zealander David Brabham. The latter is also Geoff's little brother! Bourdais-Sarrazin-Montagny finished second. 

In 2010, the roles were reversed. Audi has worked hard to regain leadership, and thanks Peugeot and its complete failure. Faster on a lap, the 908s break down one after the other due to suspension breakage or engine damage.

The last driver in the running, Franck Montagny attacks like crazy and goes from sixth to second place. Unfortunately, he also gave up and caused a strong image of the Audi-Peugeot duel by remaining seated on his mount in the grass. 

A year later, this affront must be repaired. Peugeot Sport staff developed the 908 (without the HDi FAP designation); if visually the differences are minimal, under the body the engineers have created a completely new mechanism. 

The V12 is swapped for a V8 still diesel, with a displacement of 3,7 liters. The power drops to 550 canassons but above all it prepares the ground for the Hybrid4 version which will never be released in competition.

The 24 2011 Hours of Le Mans are an opportunity for the French firm to take its revenge. We are not going to repeat the film hour by hour, but this edition has entered the legend of motorsport as one of the most intense races of all time. 

On board their Audi R18 TDI, Allan McNish then Mike Rockenfeller crashed into the protection following a collision with a latecomer. Faced with a single German prototype, the Peugeot 908s are hungry and want to share the spoils.

At the end of an epic double clock tour (let's not be afraid of words), Sébastien Bourdais, accompanied by the future winner of the Indy 500 simon pagenaud and Pedro Lamy, missed the boat by only 13''8 against Marcel Fässler-André Lotterer-Benoît Tréluyer! 

The shock was even greater when the PSA group decided at the last minute to stop the 908 Hybrid4 program at the beginning of 2012, while all preparations were well underway before the start of the first season of WEC. A world championship that Peugeot Sport will finally join in 2022.