The Peugeot 9X8, the French marque's most recent original release, will make its first appearance in the FIA World Endurance Championship on 10 July at the 6 Hours of Monza in Italy.

During the presentation of the 9X8's concept in July 2021, the absence of a rear spoiler was noted and explained as an interpretation of the LMH ACO/FIA regulations that prompted Peugeot Sport Technical Director Olivier Jansonnie to opt for that design. Track tests carried out since December on five diverse tracks (Portimão, Le Castellet, Motorland Aragón, Barcelona and Magny-Cours) have confirmed the innovative concept: the racing car presented at Portimão as a prelude to a new test session was in line with the 2021 model presented.

Over the last few months, Peugeot has completed more than 10,000 km of test laps. At the same time, the car's homologation work has been carried out with FIA teams while the powertrain has been developed in a simulator and on the track. These modification and reliability phases indicate entry into competition after the 2022 24 Hours. Even though the 9X8 will not compete at Le Mans this year, Peugeot still wants to connect with fans. Thanks to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, an exposition called "Allure – Le Mans" is dedicated to the marque's legacy at the race and will be available for viewing as of 21 May at the 24 Hours Museum. The original model of the Peugeot 9X8 will take center stage until September.

Spectators will have access to a dedicated area in the Village during race week to see the actual Peugeot 9X8 and to purchase official team merchandise. Fans will also have the opportunity to enjoy Kryptonite cocktails named after Peugeot Sport’s new favorite color!

Six official drivers will take the wheel of the Peugeot 9X8 at the 6 Hours of Monza: Paul di Resta, Loïc Duval, Mikkel Jensen, Gustavo Menezes, James Rossiter and Jean-Eric Vergne. The composition of the driver line-ups will be finalized in the coming weeks after final tests are conducted. The cars will later take the start in the 6 Hours of Fuji and the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson: "Peugeot’s participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship is further evidence of the brand’s ingenuity and longstanding passion for motorsport. It will also play a role in the essential transfer of technology from the race track to our road-going vehicles, particularly in the field of electrification. To illustrate how serious we are about energy transition, Peugeot has committed to electrifying its entire model range by 2024. What’s more, if we are to achieve our target of being electric-only in Europe by 2030, we know we need to excel in this domain, and motor racing is crucial to this objective. Even before the Peugeot 9X8 makes its race debut, the programme’s engineers have already carried over its hybrid system to one of our road cars – the Peugeot 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered. And other examples are similarly in the pipeline."

Stellantis Motorsport Director Jean-Marc Finot: "At Portimão today, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies presents its Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar prototype. This bold, sophisticated car wholeheartedly embraces the brand’s DNA and is the product of tireless teamwork involving our Sport and Design departments, boosted by the unstinting support of our key partners whose expertise in their respective fields has been essential. Success on the race track can only be achieved via a fusion of skills."

Peugeot Sport Technical Director Olivier Jansonnie: "In presenting our new race car today, we are keeping the promise that we made last summer. The Peugeot 9X8 is effectively the physical embodiment of the concept we revealed back in July 2021. The challenge we have faced in recent months has been two-fold and has involved forming a team to then produce a car and prepare it for its competitive debut. With only weeks to go until its maiden competitive outing at Monza, the Peugeot 9X8 has been clocking up the kilometres in testing at a variety of circuits. At the end of the day, however, there is no substitute for actual racing and we can’t wait to discover the potential of our hybrid-electric Hypercar which was developed in-house to demonstrate our skills in the realm of hybridisation and other areas."

Check out the latest photos of the Peugeot 9X8: