June 16 2006 A year ago this week, Peugeot announced its decision to take up a new technological challenge: to win the Le Mans 24 Hours race with a car powered by an HDi diesel engine. Though much of the potential thunder of winning in a diesel has been usurped by the already dominant perfrormanc eof the Audi disel race cars this year, Peugeot intends to use the race effort to showcase its brand values: reliability, dynamic performance, style illustrated by the feline lines and, finally, innovation expressed, amongst other means, by the use of environmentally friendly technology. The level of performance expected – more than 515kW (700 bhp) of power and a torque output greater than 1.200 Nm – is without precedent in a diesel engine and is a direct result of Peugeot’s current level of know-how in diesel technology, linked to the mechanical characteristics of the V12.
Why will Peugeot be at Le Mans with a diesel engine?
The PSA Peugeot Citroën group is today a world leader in diesel technology. « Common rail direct injection » HDi technology can be found on more than 60% of vehicles sold by the brand in Europe in 2005 and more than 70% in France. In 2000, Peugeot confirmed its commitment and strategic policy to reduce exhaust emissions, by fitting as standard equipment on the HDi engine in the 607 a diesel particulate filter system. In December 2005, Peugeot celebrated the production of the millionth vehicle fitted with a diesel particulate filter system.
Today, it is the production car which brings its HDi diesel particulate filter technology to the competition arena, in order to show its qualities in extreme conditions of endurance and performance, all the while respecting the environment.
The Peugeot HDi diesel DPFS:
The choice of engine architecture has been based on a 100° twelve-cylinder V design, with a 5.5 litre cylinder capacity.This is the maximum cylinder capacity that regulations allow and was chosen for it efficient operation at low speed. It also enables engine power to be limited in the first instance, but also enables further development. The number of cylinders results, on the one hand, from the wish to keep bore diameter very close to that of a production series engine, in order to make best use of Peugeot’s diesel combustion knowledge and, on the other hand, to limit the stroke to a reasonable value. The V12 architecture, well known for its good balance, also reduces vibration to a minimum.
The 100° V angle, of the V12 architecture, allows the height of the centre of gravity to be lowered without affecting the torsional rigidity of the engine. Two diesel particulate filters are mounted at the end of each of the exhaust systems. Through technology which has come directly from production cars, they will provide a guaranteed control of exhaust emissions under all operating conditions. The two diesel particulate filters fitted to the engine being presented, carry the numbers 1.195.520 and 1.195.521 which are the numeric production numbers of the filters in the overall production total of all filters since the introduction on to Peugeot vehicles.
Bosch is one of Peugeot Sport’s essential partners on this project, making an active contribution to the specification of the fuel injection components and to the engine management system.
Peugeot Sport’s engine department:
With the arrival of this new challenge, Peugeot Sport was re-organised at the end of the 2005 World Rally Championship.
Claude Guillois, under the supervision of technical manager Bruno Famin, was named as manager of the engine department thanks to his experience of race engines, supercharged engines and knowledge of production engine design.
The department is based at Peugeot Sport’s Vélizy facility, which includes three engine test beds, including one for simulation.
The schedule:
On September 28 this year, Peugeot will a scale model of the 908 will be displayed at the Paris Motor Show, followed several days later by the first dynamometer tests runs for the V12 HDi DPFS engine.
In December, the car will be given its forst shakedown run by test driver Éric Hélary.
In addition to Peugeot’s three main technical partners, Total, Michelin and Bosch, Eurodatacar will be working with them on the Le Mans Series programme.