Motorsports Style - The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

Peugeot returned to greatness when they won Le Mans in 2009 after Peugeot had conquered Le Mans in 1992 and 1993. Their race car was the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. This was a car that delivered radical style and was powered by a diesel engine. It never beat the Audi R10 in 2007 or 2008. But in 2009, the blue lion roared loudly as Peugeot won Le Mans over the sportscar team of the decade- Audi. Le Mans happens only once a year, so when you want to show you're the best sportscar team in the world (regardless of what class you race), you race like there's no tomorrow at Le Mans because you don't want to wait a full year to do what you wanted to accomplish the previous year. It took Peugeot three tries to reach the top of the podium, but they did it. Absolutely nothing would make the French happy than a French automaker winning the French classic known as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What you're going to get from me is my own take on this car's style. This time, rather than talking about individual elements of the car, I'll just share a mostly overall view of this car's style. I think you might like this format more.

--- Motorsports Style: The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP ---

Le Car:

The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, seen racing at Silverstone.

^ from: dieselstation.com

From a basic perspective, this car answers a question- what do you get when you put a fighter jet and a Formula 1 race car in a blender? You get this car. I've criticized how pit stops seemed to be so agonizingly long for the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. I've been seeing some rather long pit stops. I initially thought this car was probably badly engineered or something. It wasn't a slouch, though.

This car looks like the offspring of a fighter jet and a Formula 1 race car. This fighter jet, however, has four Michelin wheels on it and is right-hand drive. Its design up front that that F1-with-lights look. Look up front at the center. It looks like a two-door F1 race car. The headlights are bold and sharp. Its cockpit, while narrow, adds to that fighter jet look and helps cut through the wind better than a closed-top prototype with a wider canopy. Its style is sleek and beautiful from the sides. Its rear wing is a bit miniscule, but is designed nicely. The car overall exudes beauty and style. And dare I say it again- it is an F1 car with a fighter jet sleekness. It's certainly one of the most beautiful racing cars ever made. Conquering Le Mans makes this car even more of a sweet car.





This car is an awesome machine. The Peugeot 905 that won Le Mans twice in the 1990s was a lovely car in its own right, but the 908 HDi FAP was stunning to look at, to listen to, and to see it race at full speed. This is a fantastic car that I've always loved since the real thing hit the track.

Here's a video I found which offers Peugeot's thoughts on winning the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans: