The Peugeot 908 is an

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

car developed by

Peugeot Sport Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities. History Beginnings in rallying Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champions ...

in 2011 for the

Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

category of racing. Powered by a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

, it is the successor to the

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007 and eventually winning in 2009. This effort, in development sin ...

which competed since 2007. The newer 908 features a smaller diesel than its predecessor, utilizing a

HDi The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...

V8 engine with

Honeywell Turbo Technologies Garrett Motion Inc., formerly Honeywell Transportation Systems and Honeywell Turbo Technologies, is an American company primarily involved in engineering, development and manufacturing of turbochargers and related forced induction systems for g ...

turbocharger in order to meet new regulations for 2011. The 908 has competed in all rounds of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup including the

2011 24 Hours of Le Mans The 79th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''79e 24 Heures du Mans'') was an 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars. The race was held from 11 to 12 June 2011 at the Circuit de ...

. The new 908 lost about 150 bhp compared to 2010 but improvements in the chassis and handling made the car much more agile. Unlike its predecessor the front tyres are the same width as the rear. The only part that has been reused from its predecessor was the windscreen wiper.

Racing History

2011

The 908 was known under the codename 90X during development. The car was officially revealed in February 2011. The 908's first competitive outing was at the 2011

Sebring 12 Hours The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second rou ...

. The new cars faced competition from the older R15+ and the older-specification

Oreca ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. ...

. Both Peugeots ran at the front, building a 2-second gap per lap over the Audi but relentless safety car periods cut their lead over time. Marc Gené then shoved the car to the inside of Capello in turn 17. Both cars spun but only Gené hit the barrier and suffered a suspension failure. The #8 led for a while until a slow pit stop and a spin by Lamy threw them back to third. The Peugeots finished 3rd and 8th. At the 2011 1000 km of Spa, three 908s were up against Audi's new R18 as well as the R15+ and Oreca / Matmut 908. After a disastrous qualifying session leaving only one 908 in the top ten, they quickly got to the front of the field during the first laps and soon were running 1-2-3 after the R18s ran into technical issues. After an off by the third placed 908 piloted by

Pedro Lamy José Pedro Mourão Lamy Viçoso, OIH, known as Pedro Lamy (; born 20 March 1972) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently racing in endurance races teaming up with Mathias Lauda and gentleman driver Paul Dalla Lana. He was the fir ...

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

's R18 took its position. Following damage to the engine cover of the R18, the Peugeots regained the podium positions, but a front suspension failure half an hour before the end of the race led to a nine-minute pit-stop and a drop into position eight. Nonetheless this same car achieved the fastest lap of the event at 2:03.699. At Le Mans the three Peugeot 908s were able to battle Audi for the lead of the race. Aided by fewer

pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...

s, Peugeot remained on the same lap as the lead Audi but failed to catch the leader in the final hour, the No. 9 Peugeot crossing the finish line thirteen seconds behind the race winner.

2012

Peugeot908Hybrid4 at Zhuhai International Circuit

A hybrid version of the 908 known as the Peugeot 908 Hybrid4 was expected to run in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

in 2012 in addition to an updated version of the regular car, but after poor economic performance in 2011 Peugeot cancelled their race program for 2012.http://www.doubledeclutch.com/?p=3616 Peugeot was already at Sebring to test the new cars, so the announcement came as a severe blow to Peugeot Sport Total.

24 Hours of Le Mans

References

{{Peugeot Le Mans Prototypes

908 __NOTOC__ Year 908 ( CMVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 15 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor L ...

24 Hours of Le Mans race cars