In the United States, Peugeot isn’t a huge name. As an automotive manufacturer, they have had more influence here with components used by other manufacturers. Outside of North America, however, they’re huge. They have had a long-standing off-road racing career; racing in the World Rally Championship, Pikes Peak, and Dakar to name a few. Recently, Peugeot debuted their newest rally car, the 3008 DKR.
In the video above, you’ll see that the Peugeot 3008 DKR isn’t just a typical European car. It is an absolute animal. It is supposed to resemble the new Peugeot five-door SUV but all I see is a dirt pounding beast ready to take on the Dakar race.
Instead of the economical 2.0-liter diesel under the hood of the mass produced relative, the 3008 DKR uses a mid-engine design with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo diesel V6. Peugeot is touting 340 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque out of the little engine. A six-speed sequential racing transmission handles power conversion duties. Top speed is 124 miles per hour.
“Our new Dakar car is the most extreme expression of Peugeot’s latest SUV,” explains Sebastien Criquet, Peugeot’s senior exterior designer. “It keeps the distinctive design language of the road car, but transports it into a rally context. And that’s the dream job for any designer: when you create a car, you always have a competition version in the back of your mind.”
Team Peugeot Total has put more than 3,000 test miles on the new car and made its first race debut at the Rally Oilibya of Morocco. The team intends to shoot for their thirteenth Dakar win in the upcoming 2017 Dakar race that travels through Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina.