Monday 12th April 2010

Peugeot RCZ To Race Nürburgring 24hrs

New coupe takes on German classic to help celebrate Peugeot's bicentennial

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Race number reflects bicentennial

Two diesel-fired RCZs will take on the classic Nurburgring 24hrs next month, carrying racing numbers 200 and 201 to celebrate the bicentenary of the Peugeot brand.

The race in Germany typically attracts 220 000 spectators, and Peugeot evidently believes that participation in the event will be a step towards rebuilding its sporty reputation, as well as helping to prove the credibility of the new RCZ itself.

The two RCZ racers will be series production models, with the exception of specific parts necessary for competition supplied by Peugeot Sport, the customer motorsport division.

'Pilotes' include the PSA boss

The RCZs will be numbered 200 and 201, to symbolise the 200 years of industrial activity of the brand, and will be raced respectively by French and German crews, says Peugeot.

Drivers will include Jean-Philippe Peugeot, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PSA.

A static model of the RCZ racer is pictured here.

[soad]

Will watch to see how they get on.

Not a bad looking motor either.

[Andrew[MG]]

Sill they be selling the car with this engine option?

[roland82]

I dont think they have changed the engine. Alot of these N24 cars dont have many changes. This race seems to be turning into a sort of final testing session/ publicity stunt.

I like the car though, and as a long term Pug fan I hope it goes well.

[SystemParanoia]

looks terrible

[W00DY]

"Both RCZs will be numbered 200 and 201"

That'll be confusing.

[wackojacko]

Will be good to see how they get on.

Good looking peice of
kit

[ManOpener]

Presumably it will be competing against the scirocco gt24. Looks good, but not quite as good as the aformentioned vw.

[Chris71]

I think that actually looks quite good. It doesn't have the faint whiff of homosexaulity that the standard RCZ road going does.

[the Fantom]

If they were serious about promoting the sporting image of the Pug brand they would be choosing professional racers, not some PSA boss going along for a jolly.

[Aused]

the Fantom said:

If they were serious about promoting the sporting image of the Pug brand they would be choosing professional racers, not some PSA boss going along for a jolly.

i expect it will work on the masses though

[sprinter1050]

So -would J P Peugeot himself have had to acquire a racing licence for the event ?

Or have the Le Mans organisers granted some sort of "special" concession- him being French & called peugeot and all that?

:

[gumsie]

Saw the road version in a dark metallic blue yesterday, that car was tough!

[timmo]

I think the Audi R8 V10s will this year

[Jebus GT3]

I don't get it. Forgive me if im wrong, but The RCZ looks familiar to the Audi TT. :/

[bagseye]

that was the whole point of the car. to rival the TT

[ringweekends]

I saw a couple of these testing on the Nordschliefe a couple of weeks ago - good looking cars!

No match for my Mi16 though .......

[flemke]

timmo said:

I think the Audi R8 V10s will this year

The race organisers are certainly doing everything in their power to make that happen.

[Murdock]

flemke said:

timmo said:

I think the Audi R8 V10s will this year

The race organisers are certainly doing everything in their power to make that happen.

How so, Flemke?

[Belfast Boy]

Twinkle, twinkle, chocolate bar
Daddy bought a racing car.

Nice!

[flemke]

Murdock said:

flemke said:

timmo said:

I think the Audi R8 V10s will this year

The race organisers are certainly doing everything in their power to make that happen.

How so, Flemke?

For the 2008 24 Hrs, Audi contributed more than 40 course/service cars. I don't know if they also made a cash contribution, which they would have been perfectly entitled to do. They certainly had a lot of advertising on show.
At the end of '08, the first 2 R8 GT3s put a toe in the water, participating in maybe 2-3 of the autumn VLNs.
It is obviously in the organisers' economic interest to have as many different manufacturers involved as possible. For more manufacturers to get involved, they need to think they have a chance of looking good.

It was self-evident that the R8s' 5.2-litre V10s would use more fuel than the Porsches' 3.6-litre flat 6s. Having 50% more capacity, it was also a safe bet that the R8s would produce considerably more power. ISTR once reading somewhere that having more power in a racing car made it go faster.
For the '09 regs, for both VLN and 24 Hrs (regs almost identical, substantially the same entrant pool), the Porsches were required to use a refuelling flow restrictor:

the sole purpose of which was to extend the length of the Porsches' pit stops by about 30 seconds each. In the 24 Hrs, a fast Porsche would have to make maybe 17 pit stops.
The R8s were not required to use this restrictor.
Also, the Porsches are limited to 110 litre fuel tanks. The R8s are allowed 120 litre tanks.
Please note that Audi did not seek, alternatively, to balance the Porsches' "unfair advantage" of better fuel economy by using the V8 version of the R8, and leaving the regulations the same for all entrants.