Come (Climb) Dancing: Sebastien Loeb Tests His New Pikes Peak Peugeot 208 T16 [Video]
Having won theWorld Rally Championshipfor drivers in each of the last nine years, France’sSebastien Loebhas retired from full-timeWRCcompetition (to the unending relief of his competitors). But instead of spending his many weekends away from that tour perched in a lawn chair in his driveway yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off hispelouse, he’s keeping busy with other forms ofmotorsport. In addition to being an owner/driver in theFIA GT Serieswith a pair ofMcLaren MP4-12C GT3s, the most decorated rally driver in history is also taking on a new challenge at the end of next month: ThePikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Seb’s weapon of choice for this American adventure? That would be a specially-built number fromPeugeot(corporate cousin of Loeb’s longtime rally steed provider,Citroen) called the208 T16. Like the conceptually similar205 T16and405 T16that attackedthe Colorado mountainin the 1980s, this dedicated racingPeugeotfeatures an obscenely powerful mid-mounted engine (in this case a3.2L twin-turbo V6generating875hp) that drives all four wheels. So it’s fast? Well, we reckon 0-62 mph in1.8 secondsand 0-150 mph in7.0 secondscounts as fast. While this video of shakedown testing is neat, we’re anxious to see how man and machine do in the actual event.
Source: YouTube