For this Throwback Thursday put up, we’re as soon as once more winding the clock again 10 years to October 2013, when Speedhunters obtained up shut and private with Peugeot’s 208 T16 Pikes Peak.

A number of months prior, the motorsport world watched as nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb bettered the then present Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb report (Rhys Millen, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, 9:46.164, PPIHC 2012) by greater than 90 seconds. Loeb’s 8:13.878 run up the 12.42-mile course had many individuals questioning (ourselves included) whether or not the time might ever be crushed. There was good cause to suppose this too, as Peugeot had thrown all of it on the 2013 Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb – the twenty fifth anniversary of the French automaker’s historic first PPIHC win – by engineering an 875hp/875kg automobile and enlisting one of many world’s best drivers to ship it up the hill. After all, so much can change in a decade, nevertheless it solely took 5 years for Peugeot/Loeb’s report to fall. And 5 years on, Romain Dumas’s 07:57.148 report time set within the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak nonetheless stands.

No matter that although, the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak lives on in PPIHC historical past as a merely unimaginable machine.

Making Historical past

Ever because the earliest years of motoring, man has been in search of methods to go quicker. The pursuit of final efficiency by way of pace is how the Thrust SSC grew to become the primary land-based car to go supersonic when RAF pilot Andy Inexperienced pointed it to 763mph (1,228km/h) on the Black Rock Desert again in 1997, and why final 12 months, Antron Brown went zero to 300 meters (NHRA’s High Gasoline class mandate) in 3.70 seconds at 328mph.

Though the Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb –  a 19.99-kilometer lengthy, 156-corner deep ascent from an altitude of two,865 meters by way of 4,301 meters – is about as far eliminated as you will get from land pace report proving grounds or a straight, flat, drag strip; ever because the first operating of the occasion on ‘America’s Mountain’ virtually 100 years in the past, the bar has constantly been raised.

The dramatic lunar-esque panorama that helps outline the world’s most well-known hill climb hasn’t modified since Rea Wentz set the unique tempo with a 20:55.600 time in his Romano Demon Particular on the 1916 occasion’s characteristic race, however full paving of the difficult street course and a consequent provision that has allowed using full slick tyres, make the PPIHC a really completely different beast to the one it initially was. Some mentioned the ‘Race to the Clouds’ would fade away into oblivion as soon as the Pikes Peak Freeway misplaced its authentic all-dirt DNA, however following the occasion of 30 June 2013, it appears like extra of a brand new starting.

That, in fact, is thanks partly to the driving abilities of this man: nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

And this machine: Peugeot’s mind-numbing 208 T16 Pikes Peak.

As he does yearly, Larry delivered some superb post-event protection from this 12 months’s PPIHC, however a couple of days previous to Loeb rewriting the report books together with his unfathomably-quick 8m13.878-second dash to the summit, Sean was invited to take a behind-the-scenes take a look at Peugeot Sport’s operation throughout a non-public take a look at session at Pikes Peak Worldwide Speedway.

A possibility to see one of many best triumphs of efficiency automotive engineering with its garments off? Some issues in life simply don’t require a second thought.

Engineered To Win

Though the 208 T16 programme got here collectively in a really quick house of time, you can say that Peugeot’s return to Pikes Peak was 25 years within the making. In any case, the French automaker was hardly going to let the essential anniversary of Ari Vatanen’s profitable drive in its 405 T16, a savage machine spawned from the Group B period of rallying and the gruelling Paris Dakar endurance race, cross quietly.

As many who’ve tried will attest, engineering a automobile to win the PPIHC is less complicated mentioned than carried out – not to mention in simply six quick months. However amazingly, that’s all the time Peugeot Sport had been allotted forward of its first scheduled shakedown. Constructing one thing utterly from scratch was by no means going to be doable given the constraints, however with a staff of proficient engineers and a profitable Le Mans prototype endurance racing programme to attract upon, it knew the place to begin.

In a lot the identical manner Peugeot engineered its 205 T16 to tackle Audi’s Sport Quattro and Lancia’s Delta S4 throughout rallying’s wildest years, the 208 T16 encompasses a tubular chrome-moly metal chassis wrapped in custom-formed carbon fibre panels.

To be able to obtain Peugeot Sport’s desired kerb weight of simply 875 kilograms, excessive measures had been taken – maybe nowhere extra evident than within the development of the doorways. As you may see, these are primarily made up of some layers of carbon fibre and skinny polycarbonate home windows.

Related Group-B-meets-modern-day methodology has been taken beneath the light-weight composite pores and skin too, with four-wheel drive and a high-powered turbocharged engine.

The latter is an evolution of the 3.2-litre DOHC 24-valve 60-degree V6 Peugeot ES9 JS4 unit that Braveness utilised in its Pescarolo C60 Le Mans prototype. Initially Peugeot Sport had toyed with the thought of growing the hybrid (diesel turbo and electrical) powerplant from its factory-entered 908 HDi Le Mans racer for the 208 T16 utility, however on condition that engine’s bodily dimensions and weight – to not point out the time constraints imposed upon them – the untravelled street was shortly dominated out.

That made the ES9 the plain alternative. In Le Mans guise the engine had generated greater than 500 dependable horsepower with energy-sapping FIA restrictors in its turbocharger inlets, however with a revised pair of Garrett compressors and completely no requirement to be corked up for the Peak, Peugeot Sport’s 875 horsepower objective – for a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio – was by no means going to be too a lot of a stretch.

Seeing all that energy to the bottom as successfully as doable, required a driveline specification of equal magnitude. Peugeot Sport tapped into its WRC assets for the transmission, integrating a six-speed sequential gearbox in a longitudinal place and equipping it with steering column mounted paddle shifters.

The remainder of the driveline, and actually the remainder of its underbody componentry, is all derived from the Le Mans 908, however tailored to suit across the 208 T16’s {custom} chassis. That features the suspension design, which revolves round double wishbones and pushrod/rocker arm actuation in any respect 4 corners, together with torsion bars, pressurised dampers, and adjustable anti-roll bars.

The Brembo brakes are 908 fare too; particularly 380mm vented carbon fibre rotors and six-pot monoblock callipers on the entrance finish, and a 355mm package deal on the rear.

Engineered utilizing Method 1 know-how, the 18×13-inch OZ Racing wheels in any respect 4 corners characteristic magnesium development. After which there are the tyres: 31/71×18 slicks that Michelin designed and manufactured solely for the 208 T16 and the record-chasing problem.

Unsurprisingly, there’s been a no-nonsense method to the inside house, the place the main focus as soon as extra has been on weight minimisation – though not on the expense of security.

It’s right here the place you’ll additionally discover an intricate internet of 4130 metal bars that type each the chassis and the occupant cell, in addition to supporting different units such because the steering mechanism.

For optimum weight distribution, ancillary units are unfold evenly across the cockpit and, like just about each different Pikes Peak Limitless class automobile, the motive force seat is centrally mounted.

Peak Efficiency

Should you needed to choose the 208 T16’s one defining characteristic, certainly it must be the best way it seems. Based mostly – and I take advantage of that time period very loosely right here – off Peugeot’s 208 manufacturing automobile,  the outward design of the Pikes Peak machine was executed at Peugeot’s Design Heart utilizing dimensions and parameters set by Peugeot Sport.

With speeds on the hill ranging between 50km/h on the tight hairpin turns by way of to 240km/h on the longer straights, the aerodynamic side of the construct was massively essential. However with no time to prototype a scale mannequin and undertake wind tunnel testing, Peugeot Sport turned to Exa Company and its PowerFLOW simulation software program (which had been beforehand utilised on its 908 programme) to completely maximise the efficiency of the T16’s downforce aids.

There are numerous points to the aero package deal, however from a visible standpoint the pièce de résistance is a two-meter vast wing that Peugeot Sport derived straight from the first-generation 908 HDi FAP endurance racer.

As radical and aggressive as its outward look is perhaps although, beneath the automobile is the place a full-length carbon fibre under-tray resides, and that, based on Peugeot Sport, is the place virtually half of the 208 T16’s downforce is generated.

Mixed, the aero aids offered the Peugeot with sufficient downforce that in the course of the automobile’s vigorous shakedown, Loeb likened it to a Method 1 automobile.

With a lot invested into Peugeot’s Pikes Peak comeback, to not point out that 25-year anniversary of its iconic first win, Loeb was below enormous strain to ship a profitable efficiency. However, if there was anybody on the earth who could possibly be relied upon to carry house the title, it’s the person they name Le Patron – translation: The Boss.

Peugeot knew it had a automobile and the crew greater than able to rewriting the report, however there’s a lot extra to profitable the Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb, on condition that all of it boils all the way down to only one single run up the hill. The climate for example, can change in a blink of a watch on this harsh setting, as previous winners Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima and Rod Millen each came upon throughout their particular person makes an attempt within the Electrical Division.

However, as everyone knows, it was a dream run – and two-seconds faster than Peugeot Sport’s calculations recommended the time the automobile might obtain if pushed faultlessly in good circumstances. Loeb’s common pace: 145km/h.

It’s been mentioned that the 8m13.878-second record-rewriting blast up the mountain might by no means be damaged, and on condition that general second place getter and 2012 PPIHC winner, Rhys Millen, completed greater than 50 seconds behind Loeb, if the day does come, it is perhaps a while away. In accordance with Peugeot Sport head Bruno Famin, there isn’t any plan to return in try to lift the bar even additional. He hasn’t utterly dominated out the thought although, particularly if one other producer determined to have crack, a lot in the identical manner Peugeot initially did, when it broke Audi’s stronghold in 1987. For now although, the feat made by one man and his wild machine on June 30, 2013 goes down within the historical past books as one of many best motoring achievements of all time.

Brad Lord
brad@speedhunters.com

Images by Sean Klingelhoefer
www.seanklingelhoefer.com

2013 Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak

Numbers: 875hp/875kg, 0-100km/h: 1.8sec, 0-200km/h: 4.8sec, high pace: 240km/h

Engine: Peugeot Sport 3.2L, 60-degree V6, DOHC 24-valve, twin Garrett turbochargers, 40L gas cell

Driveline: 6-speed longitudinally-mounted sequential transmission with paddle shifters, Peugeot Sport LMP 908-derived four-wheel drive

Suspension/Brakes: Peugeot Sport LMP 908-dervied double wishbones and pushrod/rocker arm actuation in any respect 4 corners, torsion bars, pressurised dampers, anti-roll bars entrance/rear, hydraulic energy steering, vented carbon fibre brakes, rotors 380mm (entrance) 355mm (rear), monoblock callipers

Wheels/Tyres: 18×13-inch magnesium alloy wheels, custom-made Michelin 31/71×18 full slicks

Chassis: Peugeot Sport {custom} tubular metal chassis, {custom} 2013 Peugeot 208-inspired carbon fibre physique work, carbon fibre entrance splitter, carbon fibre below tray, carbon fibre rear diffuser, Peugeot Sport LMP 908-derived rear wing