Sébastien Loeb and Peugeot Shatter Record at Pikes Peak

It reads best in French: Sébastien Loeb et la 208 T16 Pikes Peak atomisent le record de Pikes Peak! We'll even grant the team an exclamation point, they've earned it. The gist of that reads Loeb atomized the Pikes Peak record, and it'd be hard to argue against such wording. Loeb and his gorgeous 208 T16 Pikes Peak turned in a time of 8 minutes, 13.878 seconds. That's 92.286 seconds faster than the previous record set by Rhys Millen last year. (Millen recorded a run of 9 minutes, 2.192 this year, still some 49 seconds off Loeb's pace.) Oh, and did we mention that Peugeot's own estimates were that a theoretical ideal run couldn't be done any quicker than 8 minutes, 15 seconds? Yeah. Loeb's run capped off Peugeot's return to Pikes Peak 25 years after then-world-rally-champ Ari Vatanen set a then-mountain-record of 10 minutes, 47.22 seconds in a 405 T16 Pikes Peak. While Loeb lopped off some two-and-a-half minutes in the French marque's quarter-century absence, we should point out that quite a lot has changed on the twisty climb in that time. Most notably, the 12.4-mile, 156-turn route that runs up to 14,110 feet now is fully paved. Nine-time world rally champion Loeb admitted to being a bit apprehensive before the start in the 875-hp, all-wheel-drive, tube-frame Peugeot. His Unlimited class had to wait for the motorcycles to run and there seemed to be some cloud build-up at the top of the mountain—weather can turn on a dime at Pikes Peak. It didn't and Loeb was off, admitting afterward that, "Before the start I didn't really know if I should push absolutely to the maximum or if I should just push to a comfortable pace, in order to make sure of the victory. In the end, I decided to push to the limit." To the limit, indeed. Comparison Test: 2015 Volkswagen GTI vs. 2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG First Drive: 2014 Ford Fiesta ST Millen did finish second in his Hyundai RMR PM580-T, with nothing but praise for Loeb and Peugeot's efforts, saying, "You have to hand it to Loeb and Peugeot Sport, they were unbeatable. That time they set was simply incredible. When will it be beaten? It might never be." Or, at the rate Pikes Peak records are being broken these days, just wait until next year. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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