2013 Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak, Two months before the Pikes Peak 2013 edition, which will take place on June 30 in Colorado, Peugeot Sport has finally unveiled the technical characteristics of the 208 T16 with which the rally champion Sebastian Loeb will attempt to break records along the world’s most famous hillclimb . We caution, however, that the numbers are really afraid of this beast, then read quietly.
The little 208 is powered by a 3.2 V6 twin-turbo born for endurance races centrally located, just like the ancestor 205 T16 Group B Delivers an incredible 875 horsepower which, divided by the 875-pound weight of the car corresponds to a power to weight ratio of 1 kg / hp, a crazy stuff. Still, the couple of kilos are 90, the traction is integral, the exchange rate and a 6-speed sequential shooting is a heart attack: 0-100 km / h in 1 “8 0-200 in 4” and 8 0-240 , the maximum speed, in just 7 seconds.
Numbers monstrous, of course, but not out of this world if confined to the extraordinary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the second oldest race in the U.S. after the Indianapolis 500. In fact, in the Unlimited class, that precisely where the only limit is the budget of the designers for many years dominated Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, a Japanese folk pilot who participates in the race since 1988 and is famous for its monstrous cars: Suzuki all ( various evolutions of the SX4 SUV from the Escudo), aerodynamic and incredibly showy level with a power of around 1000 horsepower. Monster Tajima, among other things, the first rider in history to have broken the barrier of 10 minutes, during the edition of 2011. But this record was beaten last year by the American driver Rhys Millen behind the wheel of a Hyundai Genesis Coupe 900 hp, with a time of 9’46 “164 equal to about 5 seconds less than the Japanese.
The reason for such cavalry under the hoods of these incredible cars still has a very specific reason: the start of the hill climb is at an altitude of 2865 meters and the arrival is at 4301 meters, 1436 meters in altitude so well on the rise. It is scientifically proven that an engine loses about one percent of its power every hundred meters of ascent to altitudes as high and is estimated by the technicians a total loss of power of about 30 percent. Guess, then, the 208 T16 Loeb will come on top with “only” 612 horsepower. But you can bet that Peugeot Sport, given the commitment in style in a race in which the protagonist has already been a few decades ago (with the 405 Turbo 16 Pikes Peak, winning in 1988 with Ari Vatanen in 1989 with Bobby Unser ), it will be a tough nut to crack for the various Monster Tajima and Rhys Millen.
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