Peugeot is no stranger to the gruelling challenges of the Dakar Rally – the Guyancourt-based firm has won the event overall on several occasions. And now the brand is looking to add to its win tally when it tackles the 2015 edition of the famous off-road race.
If you’re aren’t familiar with this famous race, here is a brief primer:
The beginning
The Dakar was founded by motorbike racer Thierry Sabine after he got lost in the southern part of the Sahara desert on the 1977 Abidjan-Nice Rally. Realising that navigating the remote sand dunes of a desert posed drivers and bike riders with a unique challenge, he organised the inaugural event which left Paris in December 1978. It gets its name from the capital of Senegal: the rally used to run from Paris to Dakar. Since 2009, unrest in Africa means it has taken place in Argentina and Chile.
Two weeks of gruelling action
The 2015 Dakar starts in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, on January 4 over 9 500 km with some individual stages covering up to 900 km, visiting Bolvia and Chile, before heading back to Buenos Aires on January 17. Of the 431 entries (motorbikes, quad bikes, cars and trucks) entered in the 2014 event, only 48 per cent finished.
Peugeot’s challenger
Peugeot’s 2008 DKR will be competing for overall honours, though it is entered in the T1 Group for “Improved Cross-Country Vehicles”. Peugeot has chosen to run a turbodiesel with two-wheel drive. The driving strength includes WRC champion and former Dakar winner Carlos Sainz who is partnered by Stéphane Peterhansel (record-breaking 11 Dakar wins) and Cyril Despres (5 Dakar wins).
Technical data – 2008 DKR:
ENGINE
| Type | V6 bi-turbo diesel |
| Cubic capacity | 2 993 cm³ |
| Number of valves | 24 |
| Position | Mid-rear |
| Number of cylinders | V6 |
| Maximum power | 254 kW |
| Torque | 800 N.m |
| Maximum revs | 5 000 r/min |
| Top speed | 200 km/h |
| Gearbox | Longitudinally mounted six-speed manual sequential gearbox |
SUSPENSION / BRAKES / STEERING
| Suspension | Double wishbones |
| Springs | Coil springs (two per wheel) |
| Dampers | Adjustable (two per wheel) |
| Travel | 460 mm |
| Anti-roll bars | Front and rear |
| Steering and brakes | Hydraulic power steering |
| Discs (vented) | Hydraulic dual circuit, one-piece light alloy four-piston callipers |
| Diameter | Front and rear discs: 355 mm |
| Wheels (Front / rear) | Aluminium two-piece wheels (17 x 8.5) |
| Tyres | Michelin 37/12.5×17 |
