- A widely acclaimed launch for the Peugeot 208 Rally 4: with 145 orders already placed, Peugeot Sport’s new flagship model has certainly made a successful start and is already hot on the heels of its illustrious predecessor, the best-selling 208 R2. In fact, some eighty Peugeot 208 Rally 4s are set to reach customers by 31 December, despite initial deliveries having been postponed to 1 July due to the health situation, which just goes to show how incredibly hard the Peugeot Sport teams have worked to enable their customers to take possession of their new toy as quickly as possible.
- The 208 Rally 4 was highly anticipated, if the 185 competitive starts already recorded throughout Europe this year is anything to go by. And it has more than delivered in terms of performance and reliability, with some impressive results:
- A successful debut in Portugal, where Pedro Antunes won the two-wheel drive class and finished ninth overall on the car’s very first competitive outing.
- Paolo Andreucci then become Italian Champion in the 2WD class, winning four rounds out of four.
- Mathieu Franceschi sealed the French Gravel Rally championship title in the 2WD category.
- Alejandro Cachón was crowned Spanish Junior Rally Champion and will be continuing to compete with Peugeot in the European Rally Championship (ERC3) next season. He will be aiming at least to match the success of fellow Spaniard Josep Bassas, who impressed in the 208 Rally 4 this year in finishing as runner-up in the ERC3 standings, notably winning at Rally Fafe.
- The qualities of the 208 Rally 4 were also lauded by the fifteen or so crews taking part in the French Cup, where Mathieu Franceschi won the only round contested (Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine), before the series had to be cancelled due to a shortage of rallies. The talented young Frenchman nonetheless had time to make an immediate impact, taking the 208 Rally 4 to an impressive 21st place overall at a mountain event that tends to favour power and which had over 200 entries, including thirty R5s. Ginox Bux and Mathis Bonfils also impressed at the rally, winning the Gentleman Driver and U23 classes respectively. Lastly, the 208 Rally 4 also proved popular among the fifteen competitors in the Iberia Cup, where Pedro Antunes scooped the top prize.
- After its success among European competitors, the Peugeot 208 Rally 4 will shortly be delighting crews in the American continent, with a car setting off a few weeks ago for Peru.
WHAT THEY SAID…
François Wales, Director of Peugeot Sport
“More than a year of development has come to fruition this year. Seeing our latest model mixing it with the front-runners right from the word go has been hugely satisfying for everyone at Peugeot Sport. Winning its very first rally with Pedro Antunes and showing unquestionable competitiveness on the demanding stages of the ERC with Josep Bassas, our car has proven to be quick and robust throughout the season. The other key thing for me was the level of enthusiasm among drivers in the Cup organised in France and on the Iberian peninsula, where we had more than thirty crews in total: a fitting reward for the hard work done so far and that will undoubtedly continue in 2021.”
Mayeul Tyl, Peugeot Citroën Racing Shop Manager
“It’s been a highly unusual and really intense year in which to launch a new car! The health situation disrupted the manufacturing process in terms of assembly of the cars and subsequently impacted deliveries… but we still managed to meet our target: 80 cars will have been delivered by the end of the year. We are very pleased with how enthusiastically the drivers and teams have welcomed the new 208 Rally 4 with more than 150 orders already placed. Next year, we will continue with the work we have begun by offering our customers the best service possible, adapted to their needs.”
José Pedro Fontes, Sports & You Team Manager / Promoter of the Iberia 208 Rally Cup
“We are very pleased with the new Peugeot 208 Rally 4. As a team, we need a reliable car, with reasonable running costs and above all, one which suits a young driver trying to learn about rallying as much as a gentleman driver. I think Peugeot Sport has managed to pull this off. It is a very quick car with a moderate budget. As official Peugeot Sport distributor for Iberian peninsula, 2020 was a very successful year: thirty cars were sold in the region and we are aiming to continue to make progress in 2021.” |
