PEUGEOT REVEALS SPECIAL LIVERY FOR LE MANS 24 HOURS

PEUGEOT HAS PRESENTED A SPECIAL ‘ART CAR’ LIVERY THAT ITS TWO 9X8 HYPERCARS WILL USE IN THIS YEAR’S LE MANS 24 HOURS.

The French firm revealed the bold colour scheme that will adorn both of its entries for the World Endurance Championship centrepiece on Monday at the Milan Design Week event.

Spanish artist J.Demsky produced the design, which draws inspiration from the double Le Mans-winning Peugeot 905 of the early 1990s with its choice of colours.

Peugeot design director Matthias Hossann commented: “The Peugeot 905 is an icon of the 90s whose energy and creativity we wanted to celebrate. J. Demsky shares this passion and this inspiration.

“The graphic strength of his art, referenced but ultra-modern, transports the Peugeot 9X8 into a universe that mixes street art and technology.

“It's a veritable artistic performance to celebrate both automotive design and the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

The special livery will replace the standard, predominantly grey design used by Peugeot for the regular WEC campaign.

Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen and Jean-Eric Vergne will pilot the #93 9X8 for the marque’s first assault on La Sarthe since 2011, while Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes and Nico Muller share the sister #94 machine.

Following a partial season entry the previous year, Peugeot has struggled to get off to a good start in its first full WEC season. Duval,

Menezes, and Muller achieved the team's best finish of fifth in the second round at Portimao last weekend after gearbox issues at Sebring caused significant delays for both cars.

THE PEUGEOT i-COCKPIT® TURNS 10: THE STORY OF A BOLD INNOVATION

The story begins in 2010 with the presentation of the PEUGEOT SR1 concept car at the Geneva International Motor Show, an elegant coupé-cabriolet that showcased some of the radical new thinking going on in PEUGEOT’s design studio. One of these ideas was a revolutionary driving position that turned the traditional codes of interior design and ergonomics on its head.

The PEUGEOT teams at the time sought to create an interior architecture that was more emotionally engaging while yet being practical and comfortable. A small group of engineers and designers got to work right away, and soon the idea for a smaller steering wheel surfaced. PEUGEOT designers determined that the ideal location for this information was at eye level. Conventional steering wheels deployed a big wheel through which the instrumentation was viewed. A whole new system with a display known as the "head-up display" was made possible by this new location and a smaller steering wheel. A touchscreen display was integrated with this novel, ergonomic method to make the controls much easier to use and increase communication.

In 2012, the PEUGEOT 208 introduces

PEUGEOT i-Cockpit® to the market

The first generation of the PEUGEOT 208 caused a stir by introducing the i-Cockpit® as standard. It quickly established itself as an innovation that transformed the driver's experience:

• More driving pleasure: thanks to the compact steering wheel, the car is even more responsive to the driver's inputs, with less arm movement required to deliver the same amount of lock as a larger wheel.

• More driving comfort: the new placement of the instruments means there is less eye strain. The lower steering wheel allows the driver's arms to be positioned at more comfortable angles, and the central touchscreen allows the intuitive operation of the vehicle's main functions.

• Optimised safety: the compact steering wheel makes reactive inputs quicker, the elevated display makes the eyes more focused on the road, and the dashboard alerts are more visible. All this increases driver awareness and therefore increases safety.

The PEUGEOT i-Cockpit® has not finished evolving

The story of the PEUGEOT i-Cockpit® is still in its infancy –more developments of this iconic and disruptive feature are to come as Peugeot accelerates its plan to become a fully-electric brand in Europe by 2030.

Whether it’s towing a boat on a bank holiday or a trailer for a track car, more than 18 million* extra drivers in the UK can now legally tow without any additional training thanks to a recent rule change. However,

Škoda UK research has found that 83% of drivers who had not towed before would not be confident to do so for the first time, with 65% claiming reverse parking was their biggest worry.

The law changed in December 2021, where fully qualified drivers will no longer need to undergo further training in order to tow a caravan up to 3,500 kg MAM (the "Maximum Authorised Mass"). This rule needed an additional licence and has been in force since 1997. However, just 14% of respondents were aware of the new regulations despite their implementation.

More over half (55%) of drivers who had experience pulling a caravan reported that reverse parking was the largest challenge, and 50% said that general reversing actions were problematic. Several of these drivers acknowledged running into objects while towing, including a gate post and a building corner.

The most common item towed by drivers was a caravan, with more than half of those that had towed having done so, followed by a trailer for equipment such as boats and jet skis, and then hauling a trailer tent with their vehicle.

Amid the change in law on towing, drivers can still face fines of up to £2,500 if the correct tow bar is not used. All towbars must meet EU regulations and be designed specifically for the vehicle. Meanwhile, extended mirrors should be fitted for an unrestricted view of the road to avoid an additional £1,000 fine.

Škoda UK has a strong history of catering to the needs of UK drivers towing trailers and caravans. A tow bar is available as on option on each model in the Škoda UK line-up, from smaller cars such as the Fabia, Scala and Kamiq, to larger vehicles like the Superb, Octavia, Karoq and Kodiaq, plus the all-electric Enyaq iV and Enyaq Coupé iV.

At the 2023 Caravan & Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year Awards, the koda Karoq was named Towcar of the Year. At the What Car? Tow Car Awards 2022, the Karoq and Scala both won top accolades. In the 1,550–1,699 kg weight range, the Karoq won, while the Scala won in the sub-1,400 kilogramme range.

With optional Trailer Assist and an electrically folding tow bar, the Koda Kodiaq L&K offers extra technology to make towing even easier. When backing up, it can manoeuvre a caravan or caravan autonomously to a predetermined location while simultaneously showing the driver a clear area view on the central touchscreen of the automobile.

The Kodiaq has a maximum towing weight of between 1,800 kg and 2,300 kg (depending on trim and specification) on gradients up to 8%. As well as Trailer Assist, other key assistance features on the Kodiaq can help drivers to tow safely and confidently. Blind Spot Detect uses sensors to monitor the area around the car, allowing it to detect other vehicles up to a distance of 20m for safe manoeuvring.