Witness the new Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi being let off the leash

Wednesday, June 28
Versailles, France

With back-to-back victories at the Dakar Rally already in the bag the constant challenge to adapt and improve remains at the heart of Team Peugeot Total’s operation. Now they have reached the pinnacle of rally-raid they intend to stay there – helping them to achieve this goal is the latest beast of a machine created in their workshop.

The new Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi is – as the name suggests – bigger than their previous model: with a wider track designed to help it conquer the gravel roads, dunes and mountains of the most famous endurance rallies in the world.

“There’s only one thing more difficult than winning and that’s carrying on winning, against very strong opposition.” – Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director



The new car is 20 centimetres wider than the Peugeot 3008DKR which proceeded it, due to the suspension track on each side being increased by 10 centimetres. To achieve this, the upper and lower wishbones are new, as well as front and rear track rod ends and driveshafts. As a result, the stability and dynamics of the car are improved, generating increased performance.

“I’d say the strongest point of the Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi is the offroad ability that it has. With its wide track and big wheels, it can go more or less anywhere.” – Sébastien Loeb, Team Peugeot Total driver

This latest evolution designed by Peugeot Sport’s engineers is still undergoing development, but will make its debut on the 2017 Silk Way Rally that goes from Russia to China next month in the hands of nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb, who finished second on the Dakar this year and is contesting the Silk Way for the second time.

He will be joined on the adventure, which runs from July 7-22, by team-mates Stéphane Peterhansel and last year’s Silk Way winner Cyril Despres: but they will be driving the current specification of Peugeot 3008DKR which dominated the Dakar podium earlier this season.
 


Carlos Sainz, the fourth member of Peugeot’s D-ream Team that will reunite to tackle the Dakar again next year, has also helped to develop Peugeot’s newest offroad challenger, with the Spaniard’s experience proving to be crucial.

“It’s fantastic to see how our engineers try to extract the maximum possible all the time, and how they immediately think of the next steps just as soon as one Dakar has finished.”– Carlos Sainz, Team Peugeot Total driver

Loeb’s role on the Silk Way will be to assess the evolution of the new Maxi model, in order to steer the development direction. However, as team director Bruno Famin points out, there can only be one overall objective on this arduous 15-day event: victory.

Get to grips with the Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi here.

Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director: “As soon as we crossed the finish ramp of the Dakar in January, we started to work on the next generation of car to take on this monumental challenge. Of course, there’s only one thing more difficult than winning and that’s carrying on winning, against very strong opposition. That’s why our engineers have a mission to continually improve the car, using their know-how to constantly raise the level and give our drivers the best chance of success. The latest evolutions we have brought to the car improve both stability and performance. Sébastien Loeb will be the driver giving our Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi its competitive debut on the Silk Way Rally, after a number of test sessions that have been carried out already by all the drivers. The data that will now be collected in real competition will help us define the definitive specification for next year’s Dakar.”

Sébastien Loeb, Team Peugeot Total driver: “I think the car is much more stable now that it is wider, and so it feels a bit different to drive. In the very narrow and technical parts that does mean it’s more cumbersome of course, but in terms of stability and driving it’s definitely a step forward. The car has less of a tendency to roll on its suspension now, so that gives you more confidence to attack and get it sideways. I’d say the strongest point of the Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi is the offroad ability that it has. With its wide track and big wheels, it can go more or less anywhere. It’s maybe not so agile on stage-type roads: that’s more the territory of four-wheel drive cars. But the advantage of our car is the fact that it can tackle anything, especially the dunes.”

Carlos Sainz, Team Peugeot Total driver: “The new Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi felt good in testing it and it’s definitely an improvement over the previous one: I feel we’ve made some steps forward. The main change is obviously a wider track, which should allow us to push a bit more in the corners, and the car also feels more stable on fast and rough gravel roads. After a few years, improving the package always becomes harder but the work that Peugeot Sport’s engineers do is great and I obviously try to help as much as possible. It’s fantastic to see how our engineers try to extract the maximum possible all the time, and how they immediately think of the next steps just as soon as one Dakar has finished.”

More videos and images covering the launch of the Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi:

https://www.redbullcontentpool.com/C-GLOBAL/AP-1SCDRGRM51W11

For access to all our material for editorial use from the Silk Way Rally click here.

Relive the 2017 Dakar Rally with Red Bull TV's Dakar Daily:
https://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1Q1ZBU5Z91W11/dakar-rally

Find more rally coverage on RedBull.com:
http://www.redbull.com/en/motorsports/offroad

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