Peugeot RCZ HDi class winner at Nurburgring

With close to two hundred cars on the grid at the recent Nurburgring 24 Hour race, it’s easy for some class wins to go largely unrecognised, as was the case with Peugeot’s two diesel- powered RCZ sports cars.

The two RCZ’s that lined up on the grid for what is recognised by car manufacturers as the toughest endurance race in the world, were largely stock standard road cars but for one addition; a Delphi fuel injection system.

Delphi is a US based supplier of electronics and technology for the automotive and commercial vehicle markets.

The two Peugeots ran in the D1T class for diesel cars with a displacement between 1.7 litres and 2.0 litres. The change required to make them competitive and indeed class winners, was an increase in turbo boost pressure. Torque increased from 340 Nm to 400 Nm and power left from 120 kW to 150 kW.

Delphi’s original equipment charge air coolers and radiators were retained as they met the standard for endurance racing. Even the standard fuel pump was retained without modification despite the increased maximum fuel flow, which bumped up the power and torque.

The end result for the class winning Peugeot RCZ was that it completed a total of 3299.14 kilometres and finished three laps ahead of the second place car.

In Australia, you can buy a Peugeot RCZ HDi for $54, 990 and let me just say, this is a superb handling sports car with styling to match.