Peugeot 908 livery unveiled - View our gallery
We have shown you the Peugeot 908 racecar a few times now, and even video of the machine on the racetrack. Now, we can show you the official livery of the vehicle. Interested? Check out the gallery, hosted over at Autoblog.
The reason that this vehicle is here on the green side of things is the diesel engine which powers it. Similar to the Audi R10 racecar, the hope is to take advantage of the fuel mileage benefits of the diesel engine over its petroleum-fueled competition. Audi did this to good effect last year, dominating the racetrack when it was on the grid. Peugeot hopes to do the same this year.
Two diesel powered racecars on the track this year, hydrogen powered racers, ethanol and hybrid powered rally cars. Maybe it's not so hard to be green after all?
[Source: Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rgseidl 12:06PM (3/12/2007)
Racing as such is never a "green" activity. Because the engines spend most of their time near rated power levels, the fuel mass consumed by the diesel-engined cars on the LeMans circuit is almost identical to that of their gasoline-powered rivals. Most of the time gain comes from the fact that fuel tank capacity is limited by volume, so the fact that diesel has 10% higher density than gasoline means less time lost to pit stops for refueling.
Rule changes this year are supposed to even the playing field, but with both Audi and Peugeot keen to burnish diesel's credentials as anything-but-slowpoke, it seems likely that diesels will continue to compete for top honors in that racing series.
And that, indeed, is the whole point. By extending the commercial appeal of diesel technology to the fuel-guzzling sports car segment, manufacturers are contributing to CO2 reductions. That's because unlike real race cars, street-legal sports cars spend a lot of time in part load, where diesels really are a lot more efficient than spark ignition engines.
I would not be surprised to see Audi offering a diesel option for the TT or R8 before long. Peugeot doesn't yet have anything in that segment yet, though.
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