The Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak has now been unleashed onto a section of the Tour de France route to complete its first stage of hill-climb testing. This is the first time the 208 has been tested outside of Peugeot's own facilities and secure circuits; finding itself on a road that is said to "sort the men from the boys".
'Le Ventoux' was the venue for the outing; a section of road that has been used for testing extreme vehicles since 1902. The six-kilometre stretch of road rises to 1,909 metres above sea level and provides a view over the Provence region of France. Although this height is no match for the 4,301-metre high summit of Pikes Peak, it does give an indication of how the car behaves at altitude.
"It's a valuable intermediate step for us to see how the engine functions," says Jean-Christophe Pailler, Peugeot Sport's Technical Project Leader. "We hope to suffer less from altitude-induced power-loss because of the turbochargers we have chosen."
As well as the engine, it gives the driver, world rally legend Sebastian Loeb, the chance to use the car in its natural territory. "It's not the power that impresses me anymore; it's the speed that the corners leap out at you," comments Loeb. "You can be in fifth or sixth gear and you suddenly see mountainside ahead of you; you have to work out for yourself where you need to brake."
Since we last saw it, the 875hp monster has also undergone a fresh coat of paint. The stealthy matte grey paintwork has gone in place of the team's official Red Bull and Total livery.
So what's the next step? Following its testing in France, the team will take the car to Colorado for section-by-section testing of the Pikes Peak course that runs from 8th-16th June. After this, Loeb and The Monster can go for the world record at the Pikes Peak event that begins on the 24th June.
Click here to see a video of the test - with a surprise special guest...