Well, well, well, the Le Mans 24 Hour race for 2009 will be quite interesting.
It looks like Peugeot, not content to seriously worry Audi with its diesel 908 is preparing/threatening to run a hybrid version on the next go round.
Although there has been some confusion about just what type of energy recovery system Peugeot is using, some say it’s a KERS system form F1, other say it is only derived from KERS, what is known is that it is a kinetic energy recovery system that stores the energy in a bunch of LiIon batteries. from the batts it’s out to the drive-line via the same generator, which now functions as a motor.
Peugeot has some impressive, yet guarded, statements about its new toy:
Peugeot 908 HDi Hybrid Le Mans“This hybrid 908 HDi FAP is in perfect keeping with the overall mission of our endurance racing programme which covers not only the challenge of competing, of course, but also the fact that as a car manufacturer we can use motor sport as a research and development tool for the Peugeot brand as a whole,” commented Peugeot Sport’s Director, Michel Barge.
“After innovating through the use of our HDi FAP technology in competition, running a hybrid car in endurance racing would give Peugeot a chance to gain extremely valuable experience that would benefit the development of production cars. Whether we use this technology or not in 2009 will obviously depend on the details of the new regulations published by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest,” he added.
Huh … hedging of bets … and it get even more mysterious if you dig deeper, like Sam Collins of Racecar Engineering, who calls the 908 HDI a “false dawn.”
So, are they serious, or is this just hype?
Source: Carscoop & Racecar Engineering
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