Tiger's Cub Set For Rallying
Worried about the current state of the FIA World Rally Champion
(WRC)series? Are you jaded because many of the star manufacturers likeMitsubishi, Skoda, Citroen and Hyundai have pulled out, leaving onlyprivateers plus Ford and Subaru behind? Fret no more, as Frenchautomaker Peugeot has something in store at this year's SwissMotor Show, a spicy new rally car concept that's based off their all-new207 subcompact, a production vehicle also being shown for the firsttime in Switzerland.
The subcompact 207 is one of Peugeot's most important cars, handsdown, no exceptions. Though the 207 is a subcompact no larger than theToyota Yaris or Honda Fit, it's got some enormous shoes to fill, as the 206, the carthat it replaces, was the most popular car in the French firm's near100 year history. In fact, the eight year old predecessor is still sucha strong seller around the globe that Peugeot will continue to produceit alongside newer cars like the micro-sized 107 and 1007 hatchbacks.
To
stress the importance of the new car, Peugeot has beenemphasizing this particular model by producing a couple of fun versionsof it. The first in the series, and acting as a preview to the 207'sgaping-mouth grille was the three-wheeled 20Cup concept car, anopen-roofed, windshield-less racer with a single rear wheel. Tobolster the effort, Peugeot will also be presenting the 207 RCup(playing off the name of the performance version of the 206 called theRC), a preview at the WRC-spec rally car that will be hitting theSpecial Stages in far off lands sometime next year.
While it may look like a standard 207 with a white and redpaint scheme, beneath the skin it features a tubular spaceframe that hasstretched the car in all dimensions in accordance with the WRC rules.The larger width and track are present for the purpose of giving the207 road-hugging grip, which in turn are expressed through extra-flaredfenders and fascias, constructed from ultra-lightweight composites.Meanwhile, Peugeot aerodynamicists have added air-extraction ductsaffront all wheels to lessen the dependency on oversized spoilers fordownforce. The 207 RCup rides on wide, 235/40R18 rally-style magnesiumwheels, with a ride height that's a mere ten cm (3.9 inches) above the ground.
To
get a good look inside the RCup, you'll have to open the doorsbecause the car has extremely dark tint on the windows. Inside, it's acomplete racer, with tubular frame roll cage, racing seats andfour-point harnesses to keep driver and navigator strapped in place.Also, like most production-based racing cars, the RCup features thesame dashboard, and instrument cluster as the 207, but no stereo,carpets or cupholders. All surfaces that the driver contacts - thesteering wheel, sequential shifter and handbrake - are trimmed insuede, while the centre console has been gutted, and fitted withrelevant switches, gauges and other rally car vitals such as thecontrols to the AWD system.
In the same way that the 207 RCup abides to all the WRC rules andguidelines, in construction materials and dimensions, its power comesfrom an FIA-sanctioned, naturally aspirated 2.0-litre gasoline enginewith four valves per cylinder and dual overhead camshafts, but novariable valve timing or turbocharger, as with the production model.Nevertheless, the 207 RCup still generates an impressive 280-horsepowerand has a redline of 8,500 rpm. That should make for one very fast car,concept, race or otherwise.
In the old 'glory' days of 1980s rally car racing,homologation
vehicles, production cars that are closely related to the actual racecars in performance, appearance and technology, were mandatory. The latter-day equivalent ofthe 207 RCup, the Audi Sport Quattro and Peugeot's 205 Turbo appearedon the roads in extremely limited numbers. Unfortunately, since the mid'80s, the FIA dropped this rule, a burden to the manufacturers, and asa result, these fascinating machines became an extinct breed. Nothingnew has sprung up in the FIA rule book concerning homologationvehicles, so, the 207 RCup Concept will remain just that: a concept.
Worried about the current state of the FIA World Rally Champion
 |
| Wipe that tear from your eye... Pug's got a preview of its next WRC car. (Photo: PSA-Peugeot-Citroën) |
The subcompact 207 is one of Peugeot's most important cars, handsdown, no exceptions. Though the 207 is a subcompact no larger than theToyota Yaris or Honda Fit, it's got some enormous shoes to fill, as the 206, the carthat it replaces, was the most popular car in the French firm's near100 year history. In fact, the eight year old predecessor is still sucha strong seller around the globe that Peugeot will continue to produceit alongside newer cars like the micro-sized 107 and 1007 hatchbacks.
To
 |
| Peugeot's been tinkering with the 207. Its latest creation is the 280-hp AWD 207 RCup. (Photo: PSA-Peugeot-Citroën) |
While it may look like a standard 207 with a white and redpaint scheme, beneath the skin it features a tubular spaceframe that hasstretched the car in all dimensions in accordance with the WRC rules.The larger width and track are present for the purpose of giving the207 road-hugging grip, which in turn are expressed through extra-flaredfenders and fascias, constructed from ultra-lightweight composites.Meanwhile, Peugeot aerodynamicists have added air-extraction ductsaffront all wheels to lessen the dependency on oversized spoilers fordownforce. The 207 RCup rides on wide, 235/40R18 rally-style magnesiumwheels, with a ride height that's a mere ten cm (3.9 inches) above the ground.
To
 |
| Red plastic and suede-lined interface gives RCup a bit more flash than your average WRC car. (Photo: PSA-Peugeot-Citroën) |
In the same way that the 207 RCup abides to all the WRC rules andguidelines, in construction materials and dimensions, its power comesfrom an FIA-sanctioned, naturally aspirated 2.0-litre gasoline enginewith four valves per cylinder and dual overhead camshafts, but novariable valve timing or turbocharger, as with the production model.Nevertheless, the 207 RCup still generates an impressive 280-horsepowerand has a redline of 8,500 rpm. That should make for one very fast car,concept, race or otherwise.
In the old 'glory' days of 1980s rally car racing,homologation
 |
| Small car, big shoes. The only size that matters in the B-Segment isthe number of cars you sell, and Peugeot is at the top. (Photo:PSA-Peugeot-Citroën) |
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