Coming off the back of a successful Dakar and Silk Way Rally campaign with the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR this year, Team Peugeot Total and Red Bull have revealed the new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR.
This is the all-new successor to the famous machine with which Stéphane Peterhansel claimed his resounding 12th victory on the Dakar back in January, and Cyril Despres clinched his first win on four wheels on the Silk Way Rally in July.
A technical challenge & designer dream
The all-new Dakar challenger is based on an entirely new model of Peugeot SUV, to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show next month, following eight months of intensive work in Velizy, France, since the Dakar finish ramp in Rosario. The new PEUGEOT 3008 SUV forms the inspiration for the latest evolution, following the company’s return to Dakar after 25 years in 2015.
The new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR also remains loyal to Peugeot’s two-wheel drive philosophy, with the first Dakar win for a two-wheel drive car in 15 years nine months ago proving that you don’t necessarily need four wheel drive to conquer the toughest landcapes in the world.
“The new 3008 symbolises the next step,” said team director Bruno Famin. “Our goal with this car was to take the weaker points of the existing car and make them stronger, while capitalising on all the existing strengths to improve them still further. There are also some new regulations, which we obviously needed to comply with.”
Sebastien Criquet is Peugeot’s senior exterior designer, responsible for the aggressive lines of the both the new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR and the corresponding road car. The Dakar car’s dimensions and features are governed by technical rules laid down by the sport’s governing body, but its inspiration is still very clear through a number of unique design cues.
“Our new Dakar car is the most extreme expression of Peugeot’s latest SUV,” added Criquet. “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 at the back of your mind.”
Before the Dakar itself, Carlos Sainz will test the new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR in race mode against other Dakar competitors and Cyril Despres in the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, during Morocco’s Rally in October (from October 3rd to 7th).
