Peugeot Sport has unveiled the 208 R2, the first competition version of its 208 model, which will undergo a test of fire this week at the Tour de Corse in France. Peugeot 208’s competition version, dubbed as R2, will be driven as a “zero” car by Stéphane Sarrazin and Benjamin Veillas at the Tour de Corse on May 10 to May 12. The 208 R2 will be powered by a naturally-aspirated, 1600cc engine specifically developed to comply with Group R racing regulations. The R2’s engine was based on the 1.6 VTi made for some variants of the 208 road car, which is currently on sale across Europe. Peugeot Sports developed the engine to reach the 185-hp limit set on the racing brief. Peugeot Sports, however, managed to retain the engine’s good qualities -- low fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions – despite the tuning done. Peugeot Sports endowed R2’s engine with variable valve timing (VVT) for the intake and exhaust. Peugeot Sports also succeeded in complying with Group R regulations that sets the valve size of the racing engine to be the same as the standard one. Peugeot Sports will unveil the remaining two versions later this year. The first one will be a circuit version that will bear specifications similar to the 208 R2. The second version, to be unveiled in September, will be a racing version that complies with the FIA's R5 regulations, and is touted to replace the successful 207 Super 2000 rally car at a national and international level. The Peugeot 208 combines the best features of the 205, 206, 207, under the company’s ‘spirit of re-generation' maxim.
