Peugeot Rolls Out New 208 WRX Rallycross Racer

Peugeot has some serious rally chops behind it. But while it has left the top tier of the World Rally Championship to its sister-brand Citroën, it actively competes in rallycross – and this is its new contender.

The French automaker’s will compete in this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship with the new 2018 Peugeot 208 WRX. It’s based on the same vehicle the French marque has fielded in the series since 2014, but upgraded with key enhancements for the season ahead.

Those upgrades include a new aerodynamics package to increase downforce, with a new wing and rear bumper. The suspension has been revised as well, with a new front setup, fresh dampers and bigger wheels, as well as a quicker-shifting gearbox and a new roll cage.

It’s all wrapped in a fresh appearance that ought to make it stand out further from the crowd of other entries on the grid. Peugeot developed the new challenger in-house this time, instead of farming it out to Hansen.

Timmy Hansen will still be driving it, though, while his younger brother Kevin will drive an updated version of last year’s car. Plus, they’ll be joined by none other than legendary nine-time world rally champ Sebastien Loeb.

“This marks the start of an exciting year for us, as the FIA World Rallycross Championship will be Peugeot’s key motorsport engagement in a factory capacity, with new rivals and a new environment,” said Peugeot Sport director Bruno Famin. “However, even though we have some past knowledge of the sport through the Peugeot-Hansen team, we have to be realistic, as our competitors are very experienced while we will have to train our team for this new discipline from scratch.”