2020 Peugeot 208R2 revealed in testing

Following the international debut of the 2020 Peugeot 208 hatchback at the Geneva Motor Show last month, Peugeot Sport has revealed details of the R2 rally-spec version, which has begun dynamic testing in France’s Vosges region.

Based on the new 208, Peugeot Sport says it has been working on the 208R2 since the middle of last year.

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Built to meet FIA’s R2C regulations, the rally-bound 208 uses Peugeot’s new 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which has been tweaked for competition with the use of bigger turbos, a motorsport engine management system, and a new gearbox.

Peugeot Sport hopes that the 208R2 will be able to live up to the success of its rally-spec predecessor, which they claim to be the most popular rally car Peugeot has ever made and the most popular car in its category, with more than 450 examples built.

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“With the new 208R2, we wanted to offer our customers a competitive and reliable car that’s a lot of fun to drive yet with minimal running costs, there’s no reason to change the winning formula in the R2,” says Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport’s director.

“The improvement comes thanks to the new 1.2-litre PureTech engine, which will lead to a substantial increase in performance.”

Peugeot Sport will continue testing and development of the 208R2 over the next few months before confirming the car’s final technical specification, while deliveries expected to start in time for the 2020 season.