Peugeot's most successful rally car of recent years, the 207 Super 2000, is about to be replaced - and the new rally Pug will make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show on 27 September.
The 208 Type R5 has been engineered for both tar and gravel rally stages and it's scheduled to take part in its first rallies - and go on sale to privateer customers - in mid-2013, with an eye to national and international championship wins in the 2014 season.
The R5 category is open to group A cars derived from a production model, of which at least 25 000 have been made. Introduced for 2013 by the FIA, it's intended to reduce costs, so it uses most of the specifications of the S2000 class: all-wheel drive, five-speed sequential gearbox, no central differential and long travel suspension.
R5 cars are also allowed widened tracks, a spoiler, bigger wheel arches to accommodate 18" wheels, a minimum weight of 1200kg and a maximum price of €180 000 (R1.95 million).
1.6-LITRE TURBOPOWER
But instead of a naturally-aspirated two-litre engine, R5 cars will have a 1.6-litre turbo - so project leader Bertrand Vallat simply dropped in the EP6 CDT, as used in the Peugeot RCZ Racing Cup version.
"We are starting with the 1.6-litre THP, which is already a winner," he said. "We know it is reliable and powerful and we can achieve 205kW. It's the same as that of the RCZ Racing Cup which currently develops 192kW in its endurance version, with 3000-5000km between rebuilds."
Thanks to the development work that went into the 208 production car, the shell of the R5 is about 40kg lighter than that of the 207 Super 2000 - but it has a longer wheelbase, which will make it more stable, and shorter overhangs, which will make it more agile.
The 208 Type R5 will be built at the Peugeot Sport workshops in Vélizy; testing of pre-production versions on both tar and gravel is scheduled to start from mid-December, and will in fact continue throughout the car's production life to keep it competitive in what is expected to be a very closely-fought class of rallying.