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John Mahoney15 Dec 2020
NEWS

2022 Peugeot Le Mans hypercar powers up

State-of-the-art racer set to combine 500kW V6 with 200kW front-mounted electric motor for epic performance

Peugeot Sport has revealed fresh details of the advanced powertrain it will use to compete in the new Le Mans hypercar class when it returns to racing in the 2022 World Endurance Championship.

Named the Peugeot HYBRID4 500KW, the new petrol-electric hybrid has been developed to produce more than 500kW in race trim, with the French car-maker developing an all-new 2.6-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine that weighs only 165kg – just 15kg more than a 1.6-litre V6 turbo F1 engine.

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Combined with a seven-speed sequential transmission, the new V6 turbo has been developed to drive the rear wheels only.

Up front, a single electric motor drives the front axle, producing around 200kW and drawing energy from a 900-volt battery that sits in the centre of the car for optimum weight distribution.

Before the race, the battery has been designed to be charged via a plug-in source. But once up and racing it is self-charging, clawing back energy during braking with the driver capable of adjusting how much regenerative braking is occurring at any given time.

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Total power is 700kW, says Peugeot Sport, although in compliance with the new hypercar WEC rules, no more than 500kW can ever be deployed. The petrol powertrain is wound back to around 300kW until the battery is depleted, at which point it can return to the full 500kW.

To ensure there's no cheating, sensors broadcast how much power is being transmitted to all four wheels to the FIA in real time during a race.

Other new rules for the class forbid the electric motor to be used at speeds less than 120km/h – regs welcomed by enthusiasts as it ensures that all-wheel drive race cars do not have a traction advantage over more traditional rear-drive hypercars.

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With the size of the new top-flight hypercars being extended to five metres, with a width now measuring two metres, it's thought the Peugeot will also feature wild new aerodynamics.

Peugeot Sport has confirmed that 2021 will involve testing of its new race car with the three-time winners of Le Mans hoping to rack up a victory at the world-famous endurance race in 2022.

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Despite Peugeot Sport developing the new powertrain from scratch, the new hypercar rules have been designed with a focus on cost-cutting, with each season's budget limited to €20 million ($A32m).

Manufacturers are allowed to develop either a bespoke racer or modify a road-going hypercar for race use.

One catch with entering the series is each manufacturer must make 25 identical series-production cars for road use, which could add considerable costs involved to re-engineer the race engine to pass noise and emissions regulations.

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