Peugeot 2008 DKR gets 340 bhp turbo diesel to fight the Dakar Rally

Peugeot 2008 DKR (pictured) gets 340 bhp turbo diesel to fight the Dakar Rally

The days of Peugeot’s motorsport activities being integral to the brand’s identity are long gone, but Peugeot are still playing motorsports with a few headline grabbing projects like Sebastian Loeb’s Pikes Peak car. But Peugeot’s motorsport activities at the moment are extending a bit further than hitting Pikes Peak (and the Goodwood hillclimb) in a monstrous Peugeot 208 T16, and a 2008 to take on the Dakar Rally was revealed back in April.

Then, we got to see the Peugeot 2008 DKR in all its Mad Max glory, but Peugeot were being a bit circumspect about what was underneath their Apocalypse-taming Rally Raid Monster. But now they’ve revealed exactly what’s beneath the 2008 DKR.

Not satisfied with just taking on the Dakar Rally, Peugeot has decided they want the 2008 DKR to be the first rear-wheel-drive, diesel-powered car ever to triumph through 5,600 miles of hostile South American terrain.

Forsaking the normal 4WD on the 2008 DKR has allowed Peugeot to build in 18″ of wheel travel and fit massive 37″ tyres which, Peugeot believes, will more than offset the disadvantage of all the power going to the back wheels, and power comes from a mid-mounted, twin-turbo V6 diesel which delivers 340 bhp

Peugeot Sport Director Bruno Famin said:

When it comes to cross-country rallying, the biggest question is whether to run with four-wheel-drive or just two. After a detailed study of the question, we decided to go for two-wheel drive transmission which presents a number of interesting benefits.

This bold decision will enable the team to try to become the first to win the Dakar with two-wheel drive & diesel engine.

It’s going to be very interesting to see if Peugeot’s gamble on diesel power and rear-wheel-drive to tame the Dakar comes off.

We’ll find out when the Dakar Rally kicks off in January and blasts through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile from the 5th to 20th January 2015.

By Cars UK