Peugeot 9X8

The Peugeot 9X8 is a sports prototype racing car built by French car manufacturer Peugeot for the Le Mans Hypercar category in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Context

On 13 November 2019, Peugeot announced its return to the WEC and the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2022 in the new Hypercar category, this debut was subsequently delayed, with Peugeot stating "Team PEUGEOT TotalEnergies’ PEUGEOT 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar will not race at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans and will instead make its racing debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) this summer". The car eventually made its debut at the 2022 6 Hours of Monza on the 6th of July.

Succeeding the 905 and 908, the 9X8 was designed to take full advantage of the freedoms allowed by the new regulations for the Hypercar category. The first area to benefit from the new regulations is aerodynamics. Indeed, the latter allows the vehicle to have only one adjustable aerodynamic element without specifying what it should be, thus allowing Peugeot to do without the rear spoiler.

The 9X8 is equipped with a 680 hp (500 kW) twin-turbo 2.6L V6 internal combustion engine mated to a 272 hp (200 kW) electric motor, all assembled in a 7-speed sequential gearbox. Peugeot explains the name "9X8" for several reasons: the 9 symbolizes the brand's high-performance models, the X represents all-wheel drive and electric drive technologies, and the 8 corresponds to the brand's contemporary models.

Peugeot’s on-track testing programme kicked off December 2021 and has since visited Algarve International Circuit, Circuit Paul Ricard, MotorLand Aragón, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, with the 9X8 clocking up more than 10,000 kilometres over the course of 25 test days. Paul Di Resta, Loïc Duval, Mikkel Jensen, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter and Jean-Éric Vergne were nominated to share the driving duties and form the crews of the two-car entry in 2022 6 Hours of Monza, with the composition of each trio due to be confirmed at a later stage, following the conclusion of the car’s testing programme. The two Peugeot 9X8s were then set to contest the remainder of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 2022 6 Hours of Fuji and season finale, the 2022 8 Hours of Bahrain. Recently the #93 car came in 8th place and the #94 in 12th.

Since 2022, the Peugeot 9X8 are using race numbers 93 and 94, in WEC and at Le Mans. 93 refers to Peugeot's podium sweep at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans, their second win in succession, but as #92 was already taken in 2022, #94 is used since.

In April 2023, a Lego Technic model of the 9X8 was announced. The car has been reproduced in 1:10 scale, and the set consists of 1,775 pieces. It was released on May 1, 2023.

On 25 March 2024 Peugeot presented an updated version of the 9X8 car with the introduction of a rear spoiler, since the previous version of 9X8 proved uncompetitive due to its dependency on ground effect, especially harmed by bumpy surfaces, like at Sebring (where WEC did not race in 2024). Peugeot also abandoned equal tyre widths, using 29cm tyres at the front and 34cm at the rear like all its competitors, instead of 31 cm tyres on both axles in the first model.

Complete World Endurance Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.

References

1. Peugeot 208
2. Lego Technic
3. 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans
4. Peugeot
5. Peugeot RCZ
6. Peugeot 5008
7. 2024 Qatar 1812 km
8. Peugeot 206
9. Peugeot Sport
10. Peugeot 207
11. Peugeot 403
12. Peugeot 407
13. 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans
14. Peugeot Landtrek
15. Peugeot 2008
16. Vanwall Vandervell 680
17. Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
18. Peugeot 3008
19. Le Mans Hypercar
20. Fiat Ducato