2022, Year of the Lion?
WEC. It's via a simple tweet celebrating the year 2022 that the news came out: the Peugeot 9X8 will indeed make its debut in WEC this season.
If we had already been able to catch a glimpse of the 9X8 in action on a secret base via a tweet dating back to early December 2021, doubts still lingered about the start date of the car in competition. It is now official, the Peugeot 9X8 will participate in the World Endurance Championship as early as 2022.
Somewhere on Planet Earth...*
* But not in Abu Dhabi, track wasn't available @F1 😜#PioneeringPerformanceAgain | #Peugeot9X8 | @FIAWEC | @24hoursoflemans | @TotalEnergies | @TotalEnergiesRCpic.twitter.com/9mTRwWgotd
— Peugeot Sport (@peugeotsport) December 11, 2021
As a reminder, the Peugeot 9X8 is being developed according to the Hypercar technical regulations. Powered by a 500kW V6 2.6L bi-turbo engine, with an additional 200kW from the electric motor connected to the front axle, the beautiful Sochaux car will compete with Toyota, Alpine, Glickenhaus, and ByKolles in 2022 in the top endurance category before being joined by Ferrari, Audi, and Porsche in 2023. The official drivers for the company are seven in total: Loïc Duval, Jean-Eric Vergne, Kevin Magnussen, Paul Di Resta, Gustavo Menezes, Mikkel Jensen, and James Rossiter (reserve/simulator driver).
Happy New Year from all of us at Peugeot Sport!
And yes, we can finally say that we're racing in the @FIAWEC THIS year! 🥳
Can't wait to see you on track! pic.twitter.com/yr2vdg4jFB
— Peugeot Sport (@peugeotsport) January 1, 2022
Despite everything, the tweet from the Lion brand does not specifically mention the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022. Therefore, we can wonder if we will see the 9X8 in Sarthe as early as this year, or if it will benefit from real-life testing sessions on other WEC races in 2022 before tackling the classic Le Mans race in 2023. Another legitimate question is whether the French prototype will maintain its fluid and futuristic design without a rear wing, which surprised everyone during its presentation in July 2021. However, the image of the car during the tests in early December 2021 does reveal an aerodynamic appendage on its rear end...
