VIDEO: Loeb Smashed Pikes Peak Record

Quelle surprise... the world's greatest rally driver ever has blitzed the 2013 Pikes Peak event, by an unreal margin – setting a new course record of 8min 13.878sec for the 12.4-mile course, in his epic 900bhp Peugeot 208 T16... some 95 seconds faster than the existing record! It seems highly unlikely anyone will ever get up the 'race to the clouds' faster. There's only one Sebastian Loeb eh?! What a legend! The superb Colorado course, rising overs 5000 feet and with just shy of 160 testing corners was no real challenge for superman Loeb, who made it look easy in his epic T16 and brought back fond memories of Ari Vatanen's legendary cloud dance run in the 405 T16. The amazing 208 T16 was created using many components from the 908 Le Mans car, was created in under four months and uses a 900bhp mid-mounted 3.2-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6, a six-speed four-wheel-drive transaxle and a state of the art steel spaceframe chassis with a torsion-bar double wishbone suspension set up and trick front and rear and carbon fibre racing brakes and aero pack. The ballistic power-to-weight and grip netted 0-62mph in 1.8 seconds and 0-150mph time in just 7.0 sec! Peugeot said: After months of anticipation, Sébastien Loeb has shattered the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record with a breath-taking time of 8m13.878s in the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak. The Frenchman negotiated the 12.42 miles and 156 corners of the mountain at an average speed of 87.471mph. Loeb’s time blitzed the previous best of 9m46.164s, set by Rhys Millen last year, with the top three finishers all beating the 2012 record. “For me, this was the race of the year,” said Loeb at the finish, at 4,300 metres high in the Rocky Mountains. “At the beginning of my run there was a bit of pressure for sure because I knew there was so much work and investment from Peugeot and all the partners. Now, after all the practice, it was just down to me and I had to perform.” Loeb started first of the Unlimited class cars, unleashing his 875-horsepower car onto the mountain this morning after all the motorcycle competitors had passed through. However there were a number of delays before he started, which meant that the team began to worry about bad weather: a common feature of Pikes Peak at high altitude. “When I was on the start line waiting to go, I could actually see the clouds closing in at the top of the mountain,” said Loeb. “I remember thinking that if we didn’t get going soon, it would be really difficult.” As it was, Loeb blasted his 208 T16 Pikes Peak through the clouds in a time that was even quicker than Peugeot Sport’s computer had thought was possible. The ideal theoretical time – calculated using data from Loeb’s practice runs up the Colorado mountain – was 8m15s. The nine-times World Rally Champion somehow managed to shave two seconds off that. “I’m really happy as that was a very good run in the end,” said Loeb. “I really didn’t expect anything better than 8m15s, so to do 8m13s was fantastic. Before the start I didn’t really know if I should push absolutely to the maximum or if I should just push to a comfortable pace, in order to make sure of the victory. In the end, I decided to push to the limit.” The result was spectacular, with Loeb now joining the pantheon of Pikes Peak winners; nearly one year to the day after he first conquered America by winning the rally cross finale of the X-Games on 1st July, 2012. Despite his flat-out approach, the multiple champion didn’t even report any major moments, while his Peugeot has been completely reliable throughout the entire month it has been in America. “It was good, all under control from start to finish,” he concluded. “Apart from the potential of the weather turning bad, we didn’t have any worrying moments.” The scenes of success at Peugeot were reminiscent of 1988, when former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen broke the Pikes Peak record for the French manufacturer exactly 25 years ago, with the 405 T16 Pikes Peak. Back then the benchmark was 10m47.220s on gravel roads – a sign of just how rapidly technology has evolved. In second place on the 91st ‘Race to the Sky’ this year was former record-holder Rhys Millen in his all-new Hyundai RMR PM580-T, 49 seconds behind Loeb with a time of 9m02.192s. Nonetheless, the New Zealander beat his own record – and he says that he’s determined to break the nine-minute barrier next year. “I think it’s fair to say that we were racing for second place today,” said Millen. “Romain Dumas and I had been really close throughout practice, but then I heard that his engine had unfortunately broken at the start. I knew I wasn’t going to beat Sebastien’s time, so I just decided to take no risks. You have to hand it to Loeb and Peugeot Sport: they were unbeatable. That time they set was simply incredible. When will it be beaten? It might never be…” For Loeb and Peugeot Sport, it was the end to a remarkable one-shot adventure that had taken them from early tests of the 208 T16 Pikes Peak at Mont Ventoux in France to the untrammelled mountains of Colorado: officially America’s highest state. Pikes Peak is a legend: the second-oldest car race in America after the Indy 500. And now Loeb – the new King of the Peak – and the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak car are part of American history. Bravo to Peugeot for building such an amazing racer in such a short time, setting their stall out and surpassing even their expectations – making history. And a special thanks has to go to fellow French firm, Citroen for letting him do it! Sebastian Loeb, we salute you – again! Now, please come to Wales Rally GB!!!

NEWS: Sebastian Loeb Declares 875bhp Peugeot 208 T16 Pike Peaker "a rocket!"

Nine-times WRC rallying God and French dude, Sébastien Loeb’s has finally got his first impressions of the 875bhp Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak car, describing it as "a rocket," and saying he's never driven anything that accelerates so fast and it has the stopping power like a Formula 1 single-seater, more than in a rally car! Sébastien Loeb is all set to drive 'the race to the clouds' in Colorado on 30th June.
When Sébastien Loeb’s helicopter landed alongside the high security track at La Ferté-Vidame, in North Western France, the rally star believed he was in for a routine test session. After just a handful of laps in the car, he realised that this was something different however…
He said: "The 208 T16 Pikes Peak is a rocket! It’s so powerful! The first time you drive it, each gear change practically stuns you. The shifts are really brutal, and it takes a little time to anticipate the sudden jarring. You get used to it, but it was quite disorienting to begin with."
The Frenchman may have seen it all on world rallying’s most challenging stages, but his words were far from blasé after his first taste of the 208 T16 Pikes Peak.
"I’ve never driven anything that accelerates so fast!" he remarked. "In the lower gears, a Formula 1 car doesn’t deliver maximum power. With the Peugeot, though, it’s bang, bang, bang as you move up the box from standstill. Due to its four-wheel drive transmission and turbocharged engine, its pull-away performance is phenomenal! You find yourself in sixth gear at 150mph in no time at all!"
Indeed, with a 0-62mph (100kph) time of 1.8s, the 208 T16 Pikes Peak would leave any F1 car standing…
It is not only the gearbox which made a big impression on rallying’s superstar.
"Due to its aerodynamic downforce and wide tyres, its braking is amazing, too." he exclaimed. "The 208 package is a combination of the best of several worlds: it’s got the downforce of a Formula 1 car, the wide tyres of an endurance racing prototype and a differential, like a WRC car…" In short, it’s a cocktail that gives you wings…
As the familiarisation process continued, Sébastien Loeb was clearly won over by the unique experience: "I have driven many types of car in my career, but this is very, very different. Its acceleration, performance and stopping power are more like those of a Formula 1 single-seater than a rally car. Its handling is fantastic as well; there’s so much grip, and the all-wheel drive transmission makes it very stable. It’s got huge potential."
Like any thoroughbred, however, the 208 T16 Pikes Peak will need to be broken in, since Sébastien Loeb has no intention of allowing the car to be the one in control. On the contrary; with nine World Rally titles to his name, he approaches the mission with his trademark calm: "This track isn’t very wide and there aren’t any run-offs, so I’m taking things one step at a time. I don’t know what the car’s limits are yet but it was important to do this run on a circuit today. Now we have a better idea of where we stand and a better overview of the car’s potential. After that, the challenge will be to try to feel totally at one with the car on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb itself. That will take some work…"
When the big day comes to race to the Colorado summit at an altitude of 4,301 metres, Sébastien Loeb will need to be capable of mastering every buck and kick of the thoroughbred if he is to steer clear of the many pitfalls that await him along the giddy 20-kilometre course. And that will require perfect osmosis between the French champion and his extremely powerful steed.
To give this fusion every chance of happening, Peugeot Sport has scheduled a busy test programme at circuits, on roads and at altitude as the next phase of this extraordinary project which the multiple World Rally Champion finds particularly stimulating: "I really can’t wait to get to drive the 208 T16 Pikes Peak in Colorado!"
And we can not wait to see what the world's greatest rally driver can do at Pikes Peak, can you?
See a load of cool images of the test here.

VIDEO: Peugeot 208 R5 Rally Test

Check out this short teaser video from Peugeot of their brand new 208 R5 rally car on its first ever gravel test – part of 10,000Km of testing! Looks quick, sound great and the turbocharged engine is receiving much praise from the test drivers. Get the full story in the latest FREE issue of Road Magazine here.

NEWS: Peugeot 208 GTi Launch & Hunt For Nürburgring 24Hr Racers

To celebrate the launch of the new Peugeot 208 GTi (see pictures on Facebook), Peugeot is on the hunt to recruit eight lucky drivers for the epic Nürburgring 24 Hour Race in May 2013. How mega is that?! 

Eight European countries (UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland) are inviting race licenced drivers to register on the internet, between 16th January and 3rd February 2013 via www.208GTiracingexperience.peugeot.com. 

Peugeot say: "This competition is aimed at drivers, from 18 years of age, who hold a valid full driving licence and have held a national (Grade A) or International Race Driver Competition Licence for at least two years. To participate in the national pre-selections, which will take place between 18th and 28th February 2013, candidates must be among the first 400 to register (for each country concerned) on the website: www.208GTiracingexperience.peugeot.com (see full terms and conditions for entry requirements). The five winning candidates, from each national pre-selection event, will then be assessed on 4th March 2013 during an international final at the La Ferté Gaucher circuit, in France. So, from the 40 national winners, eight (one from each of the eight participating countries) will be selected to drive the 208 GTi in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race." 

To make it even more amazing, the eight lucky winners will gain familiarisation with the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit during the first three races of the VLN championship, between 23rd March and 27th April 2013, getting them ready for the epic Nürburgring 24 Hour Race 2013 in May in the new 208 GTi Peugeot Sport (pictured). This car has been specially developed for this endurance event by Peugeot Sport, using the latest technology designed for the 208 R2, 208 Type R5 and RCZ Racing Cup. 

This 208 GTi Racing Experience celebrates the launch of the eagerly awaited 208 GTi, which goes on sale in the UK in mid-April. Through this exciting competition, Peugeot Sport will deliver, for one lucky UK winner, an experience of a lifetime in the new 208 GTi. Get involved and follow the stopry on Twitter with the hashtag #208GTIRacing. 

ROAD: Latest FREE Monthly Magazine: Peugeot Special

Open publication - Free publishing - More new cars

Bienvenue to this très Gallic Peugeot special of Road Magazine. We’ve lined tests on most of the 08 current range on offer from the French manufacturer. Firstly, we cover two, fresh concepts revealed at Geneva based on the new 208: A return of the GTi brand! Can the new 208 GTi live up to all the (light) weighty heritage and expectations? Then there’s the 208 XY “urban chic” concept. Next up, it’s the gorgeous 308 GT HDi 163 coupe, in diesel form (see cool karting video on post below). Can it still be a fun, funky, fast and fresh car with an oil-burner? Then, we give the 308CC THP200 hot turbo version a verdict, roof down and tunes on. And is the badass, slick 508 GT a worthy adversary to the Ford Mondeo, VW Passat, Skoda Octavia, Audi A4 or BMW 3-Series? We find out. Finally, there’s the practical 3008 Crossover, which Road staff snapper, Neil Denham (www.neildenham.co.uk), takes for a wander on the moors, for its verdict. Enjoy & do comment, share us with your pals and join our social media outlets (links in box out to RHS). Thanks for the support and all the love, Road Editor, Phil Royle & Art Editor, Bonnie Coupland.