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Peugeot 905

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Peugeot 905B - Winning the 1992 24 Hours
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Peugeot 905B - Winning the 1992 24 Hours

The Peugeot 905 is a Sports-prototype racing car introduced for Sportscar racing.

The car was initially unveiled in 1989 and was developed throughout 1990 before making its race debut in the final few races of the 1990 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship.

The car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1992 with the team of Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas, and Mark Blundell. This win was followed by another in 1993 by the team of Geoff Brabham, Christophe Bouchut, and Eric Helary.

Contents

History

In 1988, Peugeot Talbot Sport under the control of Jean Todt launched the 905 project to compete in the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship using the new rules which the 1991 season would introduce.

Technically advanced, the 905 used a carbon fiber chassis engineered by Dassault and a light alloy SA35-A1 3499cc naturally-aspirated V10 engine that was similar to F1 engines of the time. The 905 is officially unveiled the 4 July 1990 on the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, with Jean Pierre Jabouille driving.

The car made its racing debut in the final few races of the 1990 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship with Jabouille and Keke Rosberg sharing the wheel. Although the car was slower than the contemporary Group C Sports Prototypes, it was notably quicker than the other 3.5 litre Sports Prototypes which raced in the 1990 season.

The 905 began its first full season in Sportscar racing by particpating in the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship. Although the car was now quicker than the 1990 version, and indeed the heavily penalised Group C cars that were allowed to race, in the early part of the season the 905 suffered some performance and reliability problems but, more crucially for Peugeot, the car was a lot slower than Jaguar's standard-setting XJR-14 - a car that was able to match the lap times of contemporary F1 cars.

The car was however able to obtain a lucky win at the Suzuka Circuit. Unfortunately, at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, both cars entered did not last past the four hour mark.

To counter the Jaguar XJR-14 in the remaining races of the championship the 905 was heavily revised, primarily in aerodynamics. Carrying over only the cockpit of the previous car, the evolutionary 905B was created. With the more notable changes consisting of a two-tier rear wing and an optional full-width front wing, including a more powerful SA35-A2 engine, the 905B made its race debut at the Nurburgring round of the 1991 series. These advancements allowed the team to finish the year winning at Magny-Cours and Mexico with back-to-back 1-2 wins, thus completing the season in second place overall in the championship.

In 1992, the 905B became one of only two factory efforts involved in the Sportscar World Championship alongside Toyota, who were competing in their first season to the 3.5 litre regulations using the TS010. This meant that only the 24 Hours of Le Mans showed a strong competition among the Group C cars. The 905B was successful, bringing 2 of the teams 3 cars home in 1st and 3rd places.

In 1993, the World Sportscar Championship ceased to exist, leaving Peugeot to concentrate solely on Le Mans. They made a historic win by sweeping the first three positions. Following this dominance, Peugeot decied to pull out of sportscar racing, likely to the downfall of the World Sportscar Championship.

Peugeot instead switched to Formula One races, with the 3.5L V10 easily being adjusted to F1 regulations. In 1994, Peugeot debuted as an engine supplier with the McLaren team. A further evolution of the 905 was built and tested, but never raced before the ending of the project.

Specifications

Manufacturer
Peugeot
First race
1990
Category
Group C1
Engine
80° 3499 cc V10, 40 valves
Output
650PS @ 12500 rpm
Chassis
Carbon fiber Monocoque
Length
4.80 m
Width
1.96 m
Height
1.04 m
Weight
780 kg
Tires
Michelin 32x63x17 & 34x70x18

Le Mans results

Other results

 

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