The Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak racer's full racing livery has been revealed ahead of its competitive debut at this year's Pikes Peak Hill Climb in June.
Completing road testing at Mont Ventoux in France – one of the legendary stages of the Tour de France cycling race – nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and the?Peugeot Sport team are readying the 652kW twin-turbocharged 3.2-litre V6-powered Peugeot 208 T16 for its assault on the Colorado hill climb on June 30.
Loeb said driving the 208 T16 on a real road rather than a racetrack proved very useful, since that's what awaits the team at the US event.
"Its handling is extremely responsive but I'm still not quite able to place it as precisely as I would like," Loeb said.
"That's something we will need to work on a little more…"
Car and driver met recently for the first time, giving the rally ace his first taste of the 875kg all-wheel-drive Pug before tackling Pikes Peak's 20km, 156 turns and 1500m altitude variation.
Able to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 1.8 seconds and hit 200km/h in 4.8 seconds, the Peugeot 208 T16 will be transported to the US at the end of the month to begin its final phase of testing.
Pikes Peak 2013 | "The 208 T16 Pikes Peak is a rocket!" Sebastien Loeb.
