There is set to be a flurry of changes, some visual, others not, to the Hypercar field ahead of the 2024 season.
Likely to see the most dramatic visual changes is the 2024 Peugeot 9X8. As written by DSC back in July, the French factory squad were evaluating multiple options for the future of the 9X8 programme.
Yet in Fuji last month, Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot Sport’s technical director, stressed that more clarity was still needed from the rule-makers on how far the LMH manufacturers can push the envelope with upgrades year-to-year.
LMH cars, unlike LMDh cars, can benefit from up to five performance-related ‘Joker’ upgrades during their lifespan (reliability and safety-focused tweaks do not count towards the five), but the process is far from straightforward.
The FIA and ACO need to ensure that Hypercar manufacturers don’t bring upgrades that disrupt the Balance of Performance process that is currently being used to ensure all LMH and LMDh cars remain competitive.
As a result, a lengthy approval process is in place, in part because there are many instances where manufacturers wish to bring reliability or safety upgrades that also affect a car’s performance.
“Our position is the same,” he said. “We still want more transparency and cannot make upgrades without their agreement, it’s not frozen yet what we could do with them, we are still discussing it.
“We have had private discussions with the ACO and FIA, they know our opinion on the topic and we know theirs.”
However, it appears that Peugeot and the rule-makers have since come to a resolution. Sources have confirmed to DSC that it has settled on a very substantial reworking of the car, still based around the same monocoque, but with a major switch to their aero concept.
The ‘no rear wing’ 9X8 has proven to be truly competitive only sporadically and Peugeot Sport has now decided to redesign the car around a much more conventional aerodynamic package.
The 2024 car, with a full rear wing and the underfloor aero of the current car, ditched for a flat floor, is likely to test for the first time in December.
