Following in the footsteps of the celebrated 205, 206 and 207, two competition versions of the Peugeot 208 stand out currently as the development priorities for the technical team of Peugeot Sport’s Customer Competition Department. The ‘diminutive’, feisty R2 is an indispensable part of the line-up will spearhead this drive. The 208 R2 – which turned a wheel for the first time at the end of 2011 – is an ideally affordable yet competitive solution for novices and for anyone who goes rallying for fun. From 2013, it will replace the 207 R3 as the star of France’s ‘Volant’ series. Although currently only at the beginning of its development phase, it should deliver a power output of some 185 horsepower once all the evolutions have been made to its 1.6-litre, normally-aspirated engine.
This powerplant will drive through a sequential gearbox with a steering wheel-mounted gear shift lever, and the newcomer will also be lighter than its predecessor. A test programme of 8,000km on gravel and tarmac is planned before the car goes on sale in the course of 2012.
Another eagerly awaited version of the 208 is the R4T which is currently at the design stage at Peugeot Sport’s Customer Competition Department. It will comply with the latest FIA regulations and will be ready to take over from Peugeot Sport’s best-selling rally car ever – the 207 S2000 – from the first quarter of 2013.
More than one hundred 207 S2000s sold worldwide
The beginning of the year was marked by the sale of the one-hundredth 207 S2000. In the space of a single month, six more cars have been sold since.
The 207 S2000 will be active in a long list of national championships thanks to programmes run by local Peugeot subsidiaries and privateer teams. The car continues to be considered a benchmark and will also be seen in the European Rally Championship, on certain rounds of the World Rally Championship, the IRC and the Middle East Championship. Germain Bonnefils, winner of the 2011 ‘Volant 207’, will contest the French gravel championship in a 207 S2000. Other top cars will be seen on France’s asphalt championship.
The 207 S2000 Evolution+ now figures in the Peugeot Sport catalogue at the same price as the former version. Indeed, it is the only version currently available and its specification includes the very latest developments:
— wide tracks and bodywork kit
— 3B-spec engine