Peugeot Hypercar – uncompromising progress
Competition has been part of the Peugeot DNA since 1985 when Paul Koechlin won the world's first automobile race.
Over the decades, Peugeot has been involved in almost every major form of motorsport as a function of both the regulations governing the different disciplines and its own strategic focuses.
And it was the announcement in June 2019 of the creation of a new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class in endurance racing that spurred Peugeot into returning to the sport and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
First of all, it saw that the category’s rules permitted a more judicious use of resources, not to mention cost savings which those who drew up the regulations estimated could be as much as 20% compared with the former LMP (Le Mans Prototype) blue-ribband class, superseded in 2021.
LMH also made it possible to conceive cars that carry over the design cues of the respective makes’ roadgoing models, as well as the ability to choose between different concepts, including hybrid power. It was precisely this opportunity it gave to demonstrate its electrification expertise that appealed to Peugeot in particular.
A perfect grasp of electrification
When LMH became the new premier class in world-championship endurance racing and at Le Mans, North America’s WeatherTech IMSA race series aligned its own regulations with those introduced by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) by creating an LMDh category (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) with a view to ensuring even bigger grids.
In addition to running chassis supplied by one of four approved makers, competitors in LMDh also share hybrid components. Indeed, one of LMDh’s chief differentiating features is the fact that manufacturers bring their own internal-combustion engine (ICE) expertise and body designs to the table but take their chassis and electrification systems from outside suppliers.
What attracted Peugeot to topflight endurance racing with an LMH car more than anything else; however, was the electrification aspect and the overall control it gave over the design of the complete drivetrain, and not just the internal-combustion engine.
The Dare Forward plan championed by the Stellantis group effectively targets the entire company to become entirely decarbonised by 2038 and halve its carbon footprint by 2030. The electrification of its production vehicles is clearly poised to play a fundamental role in achieving these aims. Mastering the associated technologies is of course crucial and it is this progress in the fields of electrified powertrains and the related control software that is guiding the evolution of Stellantis from a carmaker into a tech company.
Source: QuickPic
