The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return

What a refreshing sight it was to see pictures of the new Peugeot 9X8, a radical departure from the current prototype machines. Not only does it not have a rear wing, but the styling is most futuristic and at least has the look of the e-208 road car.

A couple of years in development as a digital programme and many hours in a windtunnel have enabled Peugeot to launch the 9X8 with enough underbody downforce to not need an external wing. During initial testing, the drivers have reported that the car, although heavy, handles perfectly and they have not noticed the absence of a rear wing.

This of course is not a new concept; a few cars have tried to conquer Le Mans without a rear wing, such as the Nissan DeltaWing.

Deciding on LMH rather than LMDh has given Peugeot the freedom to design the whole car from scratch and therefore be allowed to run four-wheel drive. The rear wheels are driven by a twin turbo V6 motor while the front wheels are powered by an electric motor that only kicks in at 150km/h (approximately 90mph), as per the regulations.

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As to the wheels, Peugeot have opted for the same 14-inch width tyres front and rear, which suggests an even weight distribution and will help to combat any unwanted understeer.

Back in 1990, when I was asked by Keke Rosberg to go and help with sorting out Peugeot’s 905 Group C car, I went with some trepidation as I had never worked on a sportscar before.

Peugeot Talbot Sport, as it was back then, under the forceful control of Jean Todt, had produced a sleek-looking machine based on concepts penned by the car company. This was to have a vague resemblance to their road cars, but really only the headlights gave it a Peugeot look.

Under the skin was a chassis designed and built by Dassault, the French aeronautical company. Now, airplane safety and race car safety are not quite the same thing, but the standards laid down by Dassault then meant that their product would have survived a moon launch. Not only was it heavy due to the number of layers of carbon, but all the suspension and engine mounts were external and very solidly mounted. Not a bad thing but, compared to the designs in Formula 1 at the time, rather cumbersome.

The engine was a glorious in-house V10, able to rev to 12,500rpm and quite honestly the best part of the car. However, the gearbox had been designed and built by the road car company and was horrendous. It weighed over 80kg and for some reason the designers had split the gears, four ahead of the crown wheel and pinion and two behind, linked by a shaft that was prone to breaking occasionally.

The gearshift, which was still manual with the lever in the cockpit, was long and fragile and was the reason that the car driven at Le Mans by Rosberg, Yannick Dalmas and Pierre-Henri Raphanel in 1991 failed before one-third distance. Unfortunately, it might have made it back in the race had Rosberg not wandered away having abandoned the car on the Mulsanne Straight.

Midway through 1991, having seen how rapid the Jaguar was, Peugeot embarked on a big weight-saving exercise, as well as adding a front wing and a two-tier rear wing that transformed the car

Just as today, the driver was allowed to work on the car with the assistance of mechanics, who were permitted to access the breakdown by using the service road on the inside of the track but had to stay behind the barriers and shout instructions to the driver.

Before running the 905 in 1991, Peugeot contested the last two events of 1990 at Montreal and Mexico City. The car was reliable, but the 3.5-litre normally aspirated engine was no match for the turbo-powered cars of Mercedes, Nissan and Jaguar.

Unfortunately for Peugeot, in 1991 Jaguar turned up with the XJR-14, overseen by Ross Brawn and complete with a Cosworth HB engine. A light and nimble car with good downforce, as well as a stellar driver line up, it proved to be the machine to beat, helped by the turbo cars being pegged back with extra weight.

Mercedes built a successor to the all-conquering C11, the C291, with a flat-12 normally aspirated engine but struggled with reliability as they had a casting issue and couldn’t scavenge the oil successfully. There was some success for Peugeot, with a lucky win at the first race in Suzuka when both Jaguars and one 905 failed, but thereafter it was left behind by the XJR-14 and both cars retired at Le Mans.

Peugeot improved the 905 considerably for 1992 to win Le Mans, but current homologation rules means it can't make sweeping changes to the new 9X8

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Mid-season, having seen how rapid the Jaguar was, Peugeot embarked on a big weight-saving exercise, as well as adding a front wing and a two-tier rear wing that transformed the car. At Magny-Cours (round six of eight), where for some reason the Goodyear tyres that Jaguar and Mercedes ran, were not able to compete with the 905’s Michelins, Peugeot scored a 1-2. This was duly repeated in Mexico City.

PLUS: How a troubled racer became the last great Group C car

Jaguar, which secured both titles, and Mercedes withdrew at the end of the year and Peugeot’s late form made it the favourite for 1992, which turned out to be the last world sportscar championship.

But at the end of 1991, Toyota had joined the series, running a car designed by Tony Southgate, who like Ross Brawn had F1 experience, as well as being behind Jaguar’s successful V12 Group C machines of the 1980s. Early testing had shown that this car, the TS010, would be a worthy adversary, so the dynamic was the opposite to the one we’ll see this weekend, when Peugeot will be arriving to take on erstwhile pacesetter Toyota.

For 1992, many changes were made, not only to the 905 but also with the driver line up, as Rosberg headed off to the DTM and was replaced by ex-Jaguar driver Derek Warwick. We also replaced the heavy gearbox, in favour of a bespoke, lightweight, Mike Endean-designed sequential six-speed example made by Xtrac.

PLUS: Warwick’s three shots at Group C glory

The main focus for Peugeot was to win Le Mans, so a comprehensive testing programme was arranged with multiple 48-hour simulations at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France. This may, on the face of it, sound like an ideal way to prepare, but during January and February the weather conditions created their own obstacles.

Remember that the circuit is at 1400 feet above sea level on the top of a plateau and is subject to high winds and snow in the winter. This why the circuit has a main straight named after the Mistral.

It sounds as though the 9X8 is being put through the same rigorous testing to make sure that not only is the car bullet proof, but that the team knows the car intimately and can respond quickly to any potential problems.

The new 9x8 will debut this weekend at Monza

Photo by: Peugeot Sport

In 1992, when the 905 ran almost faultlessly and finished 1-3 in the 24 hours, the only real threat came from the Toyotas, but for 2023 Peugeot will have stiff opposition from not only Toyota, but also Ferrari and Porsche, which have 28 Le Mans wins between them, and Cadillac.

There’s added pressure because LMH rules restrict performance developments to just five ‘evo jokers’ over the life of the car. Designs need to be right before they are homologated.

Rear wing or not, my fingers are crossed that the current team have got it right and this is the start of a successful project at the beginning of a new era in sportscar racing rather than at the end, as it was for the 905.

You can watch Peugeot's sportscar return in the 2022 Monza 6 Hours live on Motorsport.TV. Click here for more information.

Wright hopes to see his old employer succeed with its new car

Photo by: Motorsport Images