Winning the Dakar Rally is one of the most
challenging feats in motorsport. So when a manufacturer develops a winning
platform, it tends to stay at the front of the pack for years.
A decade ago, for example, Mitsubishi took overall
victory seven years in a row. Then it was Volkswagen's turn for three years,
followed by Mini for the next four. These days, it's all about Peugeot, which
has won for the past two years. What you see here is the vehicle with which it
aims to score a hat trick.
Called the 3008DKR Maxi, it's an evolution of the
3008DKR that dominated the event last year. The general parameters are the same – the major difference is that the
new Maxi is wider. Nearly 8 inches wider, in fact, to better help it cope with
the difficult terrain. That necessitated a completely new suspension, but while
the full specs have yet to be revealed, we're likely looking at the same specs
as last year's model.
The 3008DKR packs a 3.0-liter twin-turbodiesel V6
mounted amidships behind the cockpit, sending 340 horsepower not to all four
wheels, but just two. Forgoing the added traction gives Peugeot the advantage
of a loophole in the rule book that's made it the first two-wheel-driver to win
the rally in a decade and a half, stretching back to Jean-Louis Schlesser's
Renault-powered buggy that last won in 2000 when the rally still started in
Paris and ended in Dakar.
Though still in development, the new 3008DKR Maxi
will make its debut next month in the
Silk Way Rally, running through Russia and China. One will be driven by
nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, another by the current and
thirteen-time Dakar champion Stephane Peterhansel, and the third by last year's
Silk Way winner Cyril Despres. Carlos Sainz will join the team with the fourth
vehicle for the Dakar in January.
