Peugeot target '08 Le Mans victory

The French manufacturer announced this time last year that they will return to the endurance classic in 2007 with a diesel-powered prototype, and have now launched the project and the V12 HDi engine that will power the car next year to the motorsport press.

Following in the tradition of former Peugeot Le Mans racers, the car will be known as the 908 and a scale model will be unveiled at the Pairs motor show on September 28. The 700bhp engine will run on a test bed for the first time two days later.

As predicted by Autosport last month, current Pescarolo driver Eric Helary will be the project's official test driver. He will get behind the wheel of the car in its maiden test in December this year.

Helary has not been guaranteed a race drive with the team however, and officials said they have a list of 14 drivers who they wish to contact for race drives. It is likely that at least half of the drivers will be French, although Peugeot's key markets of Spain, German and Great Britain could also be represented in the line-up.

Two 908 will be present at the 2007 race, competing head-to-head with Audi's new R10 TDI.

The manufacturer will continue their traditional alliance with fuel supplier Total, but only for the development of the car, because the control race fuel is supplied by Shell.

The engine has a 5.5-litre capacity, the maximum Le Mans regulations allow, aimed at enabling efficient operation at low speed. Each bank of cylinders is separated by an angle of 100 degrees to maintain torsional rigidity of the structure while lowering the centre of gravity as much as possible.

However, unlike Audi, who are bullish about their chances of taking victory in their maiden attempt with a diesel-powered car this year, Peugeot's general director Frederic Saint-Geours has played down expectations of being competitive immediately, targeting the victory in the second year of the project.

"If you look at Audi and look at the pedigree of Audi at Le Mans, then it is as good or better than ours," he told autosport.com. "So if we are able to beat Audi in 2008 we will have done a great job.

"We won Le Mans in 1993, which was 13 years ago and things have changed and competitors are not the same. So I think it normal that in 2007 we don't say we will win and we will say we will win in 2008.

"It is because a 24-hour race is so difficult and so you have to be very prudent and you have to check everything. Lots can happen. Maybe you forget something and doesn't reach the end of the race."