Team Peugeot TotalEnergies introduced its new racing car 2024 Peugeot 9X8. Peugeot 2024X9, which will compete for the first time in Imola, the second race of the 8 FIA World Endurance Championship, takes over the flag with various improvements compared to the model it replaces. Competing throughout last season, the 2023 Peugeot 9X8 achieved an extremely assertive performance at Le Mans.
The 2023 Peugeot 9X8, which achieved its first podium with third place in Monza, finished largely ahead in Losail, the opening race of the 2024 season, after its first full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Now, the team has optimized the Peugeot 9X19, which is seen as one of the most ambitious cars of the Hypercar class, where 9 manufacturers and 8 prototypes compete fiercely, with many important updates.
The first version of the Peugeot 9X8 has been designed to meet the technical regulations for the 2020/2021 season. However, the rules changed between the car's design phase and its launch in summer 2022. This brought about performance improvements in certain areas. Accordingly, some design details were revised in order to maximize the car's potential and achieve the ambitious targets set by Team Peugeot TotalEnergies.
Commenting on the optimizations of the 2024 Peugeot 9X8, Peugeot Sport Technical Manager Olivier Jansonnie said, “We made choices that are no longer valid. The Balance of Performance (BOP) in 2023 did not sufficiently balance the resulting performance difference. In fact, the main idea was to return to a design similar to our competitors' automobile design and thus receive an equivalent response in terms of BOP. That's why we stopped using the same tire width on all wheels with 31/31cm. Instead, we chose 29 cm tires at the front and 34 cm at the rear. To be frank, it has the same chassis and is not a new car. However, it contains numerous updates and improvements. We had to change the center of gravity of the Peugeot 9X8 in order for the tires to work effectively. This meant moving some components and making others lighter. We had to redistribute the aerodynamic loads to have better aerodynamic balance. This required us to redesign around 90 percent of the bodywork components and, most importantly, we added the rear wing. “We have also implemented some safety and performance improvements with the new homologation.” said
These updates are the same zamIt also provided the opportunity to continue the cooperation with Peugeot Sport that started four years ago. Peugeot Design Manager Matthias Hossann said: “We started with an elegant and simple design that symbolizes Peugeot's return in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship. Then, following the 24 exterior design by visual artist Demsky, which celebrates both the centenary of the 30 Hours of Le Mans and the 2023th anniversary of Peugeot's triple victory at Le Mans, this time we came up with a design in which we used the Lion's Head at different scales. Symbolizing a pride of lions, this graphic design perfectly reflects the values of endurance racing. We wanted to highlight the team spirit and the wealth of talent in the team. The design consists of colors of different sizes taken from the Peugeot Sport color chart, including black, grey, white and kryptonite. “This theme is equally used in lifestyle products developed by Peugeot's graphic design team.” made his assessment.
Revealing the progress made by Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, the 2024 version of the 9 Peugeot 8X2023 made its final appearance at the opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Qatar 1812 km, and took its place in the 21 Hours of Imola, the second round of the FIA WEC season, on 6 April. It is preparing to release it to the 2024 version. Peugeot made its mark in memories with a breathtaking double victory in the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari race in Imola in 2011.
Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson said: “2023, the first year that Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, has been an important experience for everyone in terms of shaping the team and showing its passion despite all the difficulties. Our goal is the same for 2024; win the race. There will be a tough competitive environment this year. We know this. However, our team has worked hard to develop the 9 version of the Peugeot 8X2024 that perfectly reflects the brand's values. Team Peugeot TotalEnergies impressed with its energy and effort. “We are proud to be part of this new era in endurance racing and want to leave our mark on motorsport.” He conveyed his views with his words.