The 2007 #1 Peugeot 207 Super 2000
Why It's Special:
Continuing a 20 year tradition of supplying teams with competitive rally cars, Peugeot’s newest offering is the 2007 Peugeot 207 Super 2000. This idea was originally introduced by Jean-Pierre Nicolas when he retired from racing and has continued to flourish the Peugeot brand under his leadership.
Designed to appeal to a wide range of customers, the 207 Super 2000 is eligible for competition in numerous national rally championships and several international series such as the Production World Rally Challenge and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The IRC is a new series organized by the FIA and began in 2006 in order to give new opportunities to amateur rally drivers who have shown promise in various regional and international rallies. Super 2000 regulations require 25,000 homologation units to be built, so the wildly successful 207 road car is an ideal choice to base the rally car on.
Under the Hood:
Although the 207 Super 2000 is wider and longer than the production car, the overall design remains faithful to its road-going counterpart. Mechanically speaking, there isn’t much in common with the road car and that is where the fun really begins. Under the hood is a 2.0 liter DOHC inline-4 cylinder churning out 280 naturally-aspirated horsepower at 8,500rpm. 184 ft-lbs of torque is available at 6,000rpm and the compression ratio is set at a very potent 12.0:1.
As you can imagine getting that kind of specific power output requires the 207 Super 2000 to have a wild set of camshaft, and its raspy, harsh, loping idle is definitely proof of this. Magnetti-Marelli supplies a powerful and robust ignition system that can withstand the brutal terrain of rally stages and the high demands of the 8500rpm engine. A Sadev built 6-speed sequential gearbox is used, and requires the driver to only use the clutch when accelerating from a stop.
FWD is ditched in favor of an AWD system featuring three automatic-locking clutch type differentials. In order to accommodate this, the rear suspension is converted over to a strut design. Brembo 4-piston calipers are found on all corners with 355mm rotors up front for tarmac stages and 300mm rotors on gravel/snow stages. 300mm rotors are used at the rear for all surface types. Our model is the Peugeot Sport Espana’s 2007 Intercontinental Rally Challenge contender, sponsored by Xbox 360.
The Verdict:
Driven by Enrique Garcia Ojeda and co-driven by Jordi Barrabes Costa they had a steady and consistent 2007 season and took home the driver’s title. Ojeda drove to second place finishes in: Belgium, Russia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and third place finishes in Turkey and Madeira. Combined with teammate Nicolas Vouilloz and co-driver Nicolas Klinger Peugeot took home the constructor’s championship as well.
The IRC returns in 2008 with a new 2WD Super 2000 class, in addition to the mainstay AWD cars. The season kicks off on April 4th in Istanbul and look for Peugeot Sport Espana and Enrique Garcia Ojeda to pick up right where they left off, at the top of the timesheets.
// Continue to the 2008 BMW M3 E92 Vehicle Overview //