Diesel-powered Le Mans winner at KLIMS'10

If you thought that diesel cars are slow and certainly unsuitable for racing, times have changed. Today’s turbocharged diesel engines with high-pressure commonrail fuel delivery systems are producing exceptionally high outputs with the advantage of stronger torque than petrol engines too. Drive one of the modern turbodiesel cars and you’ll see that overtaking is done with ease as maximum torque is available at engine speeds as low as 1500 rpm.

So it’s only been a matter of time before a diesel-engine racing car appeared on the scene and because of the robustness of the engine, some manufacturers chose endurance races to enter such cars. Peugeot is among the very few to do so to date, developing the 908 HDi FAP specially for the famous 24-Hour race at Le Mans.

After three attempts, the car raced by Team Peugeot Total, won the race on the third entry and became the second diesel-engined sportscar from a major automotive manufacturer to win the race.

Besides winning the 2009 Le Mans, Petit Le Mans as well as the 2010 12 Hours of Sebring and the 2010 Spa 1000 km, the car also won the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in Zhuhai, China.

The 908 HDi FAP has a 5.5-litre twin-turbocharged V12 high-pressure diesel engine which produces over 730 bhp and 1200 Nm of torque. The engine displacement is the maximum permitted for the category which the car competes in, ie the sports prototype class. The fuel delivery system (HDi) was developed by Peugeot and entails direct injection of diesel based on heavy injection pressure. The level of performance from the HDi is said to be unprecedented in a diesel engine.

These days, even in motorsports, there is concern for environment-friendliness; after all, if the engineers can develop such powerful engines, why can’t they also come up with solutions that make those engines less polluting? Thus the regulations usually have certain elements which require that exhaust gases meet specific emission control standards.

In the case of the engine for the 908, there’s a diesel particulate filter system with a cylinder located in the exhaust line of the car. Made of carborundum, a highly porous material, it has a large number of tiny holes to trap the soot from combustion and prevent the unhealthy particles from reaching the atmosphere.

“Peugeot is a world leader in diesel technology and their HDi technology can be found in over 50% of their cars sold in Europe. These cars are powerful yet fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly and the 908 HDi FAP is an example of what can be achieved with Peugeot's diesel technology,” said SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, CEO of Nasim, which imports and distributes the French cars in Malaysia.

He explained that the company is unable to offer diesel variants on Peugeot's models here as the current fuel specifications are not suitable. The minimum fuel standard required must be compatible with Euro-4 standards and so far, there is no indication when that will be available. It’s only last year that diesel fuel quality was upgraded to the Euro-2 level – after almost 15 years.

The 908 HDi FAP is on display at the Peugeot booth at KLIMS 2010 until Sunday, December 12. It’s not a model you can buy from Nasim but you can certainly buy the others on display - the new 5008 MPV, the new 207 Sedan , the enhanced 308 Turbo, the 3008 SUV and the 308 VTi.
 

For more information on Peugeot models in Malaysia and where to test them, visit www.peugeot.com.my

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