What's the news?
Having had a successful Dakar Rally campaign with the 2008 DKR off-road racer, Peugeot is heading back to the scrub and sand with a new race car based on the the new 3008 crossover. Well, we say based on - needless to say this is actually a purpose-built racing car from the wheels up, but there are enough 3008 styling cues incorporated into that dramatic body for it to pass as a part of the Peugeot family. Imagine doing the school run in this...
Sebastien Criquet is Peugeot's senior exterior designer, responsible for the aggressive lines of the both the Peugeot 3008 DKR and the corresponding road car: "Our new Dakar car is the most extreme expression of Peugeot's latest SUV. It keeps the distinctive design language of the road car, but transports it into a rally context. And that's the dream job for any designer: when you create a car, you always have a competition version at the back of your mind."
"The 3008 symbolises the next step," said team director Bruno Famin. "Our goal with this car was to take the weaker points of the existing car and make them stronger, while capitalising on all the existing strengths to improve them still further. There are also some new regulations, which we obviously needed to comply with."
Peugeot reckons it has made significant gains in reliability and vehicle strength, and while the engine (a 3.0-litre V6 diesel) is around 20hp down on last year's car, at 340hp, thanks to a smaller air restrictor, the team says it has improved driveability and responsiveness. There has also been work done to the massive suspension and the car is even fitted with air conditioning - crucial when the cockpit can heat up to as much as 60 degrees on a desert stage.
The driver line-up is pretty impressive too: Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb and Cyril Despres - they've got 18 previous Dakar wins between them, and they're coming off the back of multiple wins in 2015. The new endurance rally season kicks off in Morocco with the Rally Oilibya in October, and there the new 3008 DKR will get its first chance to strut its stuff.