Automotive

Peugeot 2008 DKR eyes up Dakar with 2WD diesel power

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The 2008 DKR rides on double wishbone suspension (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR rides on double wishbone suspension (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Carlos Sainz goes airborne (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Peugeot's 2008 DKR rally car (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Carlos Sainz in the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Building a Dakar-ready rally vehicle involved creating a very different animal from the production 2008 (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR prepares for next year's Dakar event (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The Peugeot team loads up the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR is powered by a 3.2-liter twin-turbo diesel V6 (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR rides on double wishbone suspension (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Carlos Sainz in the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Carlos Sainz in the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR's two-wheel drive saves weight and allows for key structural improvements
Peugeot's 2008 DKR rally car
Peugeot develops the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Peugeot develops the 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR's short overhangs will help it tackle uneven off-road terrain (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Inside the 2008 DKR cockpit (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 Dakar's twin-turbo diesel engine puts out 340 hp and 590 lb-ft (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR's suspension system uses two springs per wheel (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Building the Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Building the Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
Building the Peugeot 2008 DKR (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR soap box car takes a run at the 2014 Red Bull Soapbox race in Paris (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
The 2008 DKR soap box car takes a run at the 2014 Red Bull Soapbox race in Paris (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)
View gallery - 27 images

Easily one of the toughest, meanest new vehicles of 2014, the 2008 DKR is being prepped for Peugeot's 2015 return to the Dakar Rally. We've already looked at the intense body build, and now we have the details on what will be propelling the rally car up powdery hills, through fiery canyons and over rough desert floors.

For any regular driver, the untamed wilds of the Dakar course would absolutely demand four-wheel-drive. But the Peugeot-Total team of professionals is preparing to hit the course with just the rear wheels hooked up to the V6 engine. Peugeot made this decision after carefully considering the pros and cons of two- and four-wheel layouts.

"In the case of cross-country rallying, two-wheel drive cars are allowed to be significantly lighter than 4x4s," explains Jean-Christophe Pallier, technical project manager. "They are also entitled to use bigger wheels, which provide them with a certain advantage when it comes to coping with the many pitfalls associated with this type of terrain. On top of that, they allow us to minimize the front overhang. The 2008 DKR can practically climb vertical walls!"

"Longer suspension travel – 460 mm instead of 250 mm – enhances its ability over dunes and when soaking up uneven ground," he adds. "That’s a key asset on an event like the Dakar."

It's just as well that the team didn't have to deal with a 4x4 system, because it had its work cut out for it in stuffing the existing mechanicals into the stout, 4,099 x 2,033-mm (L x W, 161 x 80) structure of the 2008 DKR. The car is powered by a mid-rear 3.2-liter V6 diesel engine, which puts 340 horses and 590 lb-ft of torque to work with help from twin turbochargers and a longitudinally-mounted six-speed manual sequential gearbox. The combination opens up a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h).

The 2008 DKR rides on double wishbone suspension (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)

Underneath its high, chiseled arches, the 2008 DKR runs double wishbone suspension with two coil springs and adjustable dampers per wheel. The hydraulic braking system has light alloy, four-piston calipers and vented 355-mm front and rear discs. The 37-in Michelin tires maintain traction in all conditions with the help of a pressure system that allows the driver to adjust pressures from inside the cabin – say, when he encounters a sand dune zone.

Peugeot hopes to become the first team to win Dakar with a combination of two-wheel drive and diesel power. Cyril Despres, Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz will pilot the 2008 DKR at the 2015 event, which will run January 4 to 17 in South America.

Watch the 2008 DKR in action in the video below and get up close and personal with it in our photo gallery, which includes a look at a whimsical 2008 DKR-styled soap box car.

Source: Peugeot, Red Bull

View gallery - 27 images
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7 comments
Milton
This thing is bad-ass. I'd love to read a follow-up story on how it does!
Slowburn
Two wheel drive is badly under rated.
Daishi
@Slowburn I wish we would see better 2WD systems in the wild (with a limited slip) but that's probably dreaming. I've seen cars get stuck a handful of times where only one wheel is without traction because of the way open differentials send power to the path of least resistance.
2WD effectively becomes 1WD at the worst possible times. People think they need 4WD or AWD to climb over a couple inches of snow but really just an actual 2WD system would be a huge improvement.
My SUV just applies brake force to the spinning wheel to divert power to the one with traction which a cheap but effective implementation of limited slip. My car which lacks a limited slip has been stuck on stuff I could push it over which is like the equivalent of drowning in a puddle.
Slowburn
@ Daishi I find that carpet samples do a great job of increasing traction. I attach a rope to the rug so I don't have to stop to pick it up.
Griffin
@daichi,slowburn
I find that a PROPER 4wd does better than 1wd,2wd OR carpet scraps.
Want a REALLY good 2wd?
Get a Rokon.
rokon.com
Siegfried Gust
"They are also entitled to use bigger wheels, which provide them with a certain advantage when it comes to coping with the many pitfalls associated with this type of terrain." If the rules allow 2WD vehicles bigger tires, that would probably explain why they went with 2WD. Otherwise 4WD is far better.
Axe
@Daishi - I couldn't have said it better myself. @Slowburn - That is a good idea. I'll be using that this fall.