When Group B rallying sadly demised in 1986, Peugeot turned it's attention to the Pikes Peak and took the lessons it learned from rallying and applied them to hillclimbing - the result was the 405 T16 and Ari Vatenan won in 1988 and 1989.

Peugeot have now decided to return to the hill with the 208 T16 Pikes Peak:

Take a deep breath and read the spec:

• 3.2 litre mid mounted V6 bi-turbo
  
• 875 bhp
  
• 4 wheel drive with 6 speed sequential gearbox
  
• Pressurised dampers, double wishbones
  
• Vented carbon brake discs all round
  
• 18in magnesium alloys
  
• Weighing in at 875kg
  
• 0-62 mph takes 1.8 seconds!
  
• 0-125 mph a mere 4.8 second!
  
• Hits top speed of 150 mph in just 7 seconds!
  

None other than Mr Sebastien Loeb will pilot it up the hill.

Good to see Peogeot doing something as they seem to be a fading manufacturer though Pike's peak is an odd one as I do not think they have much presence in the US and Pike's Peak does not get much covered here and most petrolhead only know it from computer games.

Sebastion Loeb is argueable the best car driver of the last twenty years or so, bar none and now he is not doing a fulll year in WRC sounds ike a good challenge for his twilight year. He probably saw the the Polo R and Sebastion Ogier coming on song and thought now WRC has a proper manufacturer rather than Ford who could not win a championship unless they were the only ones who entered.

What is it with the name Sebastion and winning, what are the odds?

Edited 27 April, 201313 yr by lol

Well Seb has had a crack at the Pikes Peak and has recorded a new record time of 8.13.878s.

 

EDIT: The previous record was 9.46 - so nearly 1m 30s off the record.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEes50lRU5s