Peugeot officially revealed new 9X8 who will compete in the remainder of the 2024 WEC season. Evolution of the previous project, this car debuts at the 6 Hours of Imola which will take place on April 21 and will be present at the next 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The way he talks Olivier JansonniAccording to the technical director of Peugeot Sport, the chassis has not changed and therefore it is impossible to really talk about a new car. However, many changes have been made. The car manufacturer has actually redesigned the 9X8 to make the most of the new regulations. Therefore, Peugeot abandoned some technical solutions that did not give the desired results. For example, a rear wing has appeared, which was not there before. Overall it was 90% of body components redesigned.
In addition, it was decided to abandon the use of identical tires on all wheels, choosing tires with a diameter of 29 cm at the front and 34 cm at the rear.
After its final outing at the 1,812km Qatar, the first round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 2023 version of the Peugeot 9X8 is retiring to make way for the new 2024 version. Olivier Jansonni says about the new project:
We made choices that are no longer correct, and these performance differences were not sufficiently compensated for by the BOP (Balance of Performance) in 2023. So the idea was to go back to a similar vehicle design to our competitors so that it could then receive equivalent treatment for PB. For this reason, we decided not to use the same 31/31 cm tires on all wheels, opting to install tires with a diameter of 29 cm at the front and 34 cm at the rear. Strictly speaking, this is not a new car as it has the same chassis, but there are many updates. In order for the tires to perform effectively, we had to change the center of gravity of the PEUGEOT 9X8, which meant moving some components and working to lighten others. And to achieve better aerodynamic balance, we also had to try to redistribute the aerodynamic loads, which forced us to redesign about 90% of the body components, in particular adding a rear wing. On top of that, we decided to use this new homologation to improve reliability and performance, which will give us the best chance in the championship.
Source: HD Motori
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