That is the Peugeot 806 Procar from 1995, it was created as the results of a wild (and fantastic) scheme organized by the French automaker to lift the profile of their new minivan by racing it on the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours in opposition to one of the best on the earth.
The van shocked a lot of the endurance racing world by being genuinely aggressive. It was third in its class in apply, it certified twelfth out of 46 entrants, and it instantly grew to become a crowd favorite – with the grandstands roaring their approval because it handed by.
Quick Information – The Peugeot 806 Procar
- The Peugeot 806 Procar was developed to assist promote the then-new Peugeot 806 minivan, a member of the Eurovan household that was collectively produced by the Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat, and Lancia marques in Europe.
- Peugeot, an organization with a historical past of success in occasions like rally, touring automobile racing, and the Paris Dakar Rally, despatched the minivan to the Kronos Racing group for preparation to enter high flight FIA endurance racing competitors.
- Kronos Racing closely modified the van with underpinnings from a Peugeot 405 Mi16 racing automobile and the engine was sourced from a Group A ready Peugeot 306. The unibody was welded and strengthened, an AMP rollbar was fitted, and the van was prepared for motion.
- The van confirmed real tempo on monitor, stunning many. It was third in its class in apply, it certified twelfth forward of 34 different FIA racing automobiles, and it lasted 10 hours into the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours earlier than it was pressured to retire with engine points.
Taking Raidillon On Two Wheels In A Minivan
“Everytime we handed by Raidillon, folks have been applauding. The general public favored it, as a result of aside from being atypical, it was typically on two wheels!” – Racing Driver Pascal Witmeur
Above Video: This brief clip incorporates footage of the weird Peugeot 806 Procar in motion.
The Eurovan
Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat, and Lancia had come collectively within the early Nineties on a joint challenge to develop and manufacture a brand new minivan, every producer would then produce their very own model of it. It was shortly dubbed the “Eurovan” by the motoring media and that is usually the way it’s referred to as we speak.
The Eurovan would change into a notable success, it remained in manufacturing for 20 years in varied types between 1994 and 2014 and so they stay a standard sight on European roads as we speak.
Maybe one situation with 4 producers sharing what was primarily the identical minivan or MPV platform was that it was troublesome for them to every t differentiate their van from their opponents. A lot of advertising methods have been tried however none have been extra inventive than Peugeot, who opted to take theirs racing on the highest stage of world endurance motorsport competitors.
The inside has been absolutely stripped out for racing, and a roll cage as been added for security together with a racing seat and harness for the driving force.
The Peugeot 806 Procar
When Peugeot made the calls to have an FIA endurance racing model of the brand new Peugeot 806 minivan constructed, they approached Kronos Racing, a profitable motorsport group who had competed within the World Rally Championship with the Peugeot 206 and the Citroen Xsara.
Kronos Racing engineers then set about strengthening the unibody body of the Peugeot 806 by welding and reinforcing it, a full roll cage was added, the operating gear from the Peugeot 405 Mi16 racing automobile was fitted, and energy was offered by an engine sourced from a Group A ready Peugeot 306 producing over 280 bhp.
Regardless of the lengthy odds in opposition to it the newly developed Peugeot 806 Procar truly started to point out loads of promise on monitor. It rose up by way of the sphere throughout apply periods for the 1995 Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours ultimately setting the third quickest time in its class – no small due to drivers Philip Verellen, Pascal Witmeur, and Eric Bachelart who would typically have the van up on two wheels by way of the corners.
The unique engine and transmission has now been eliminated, it was initially powered by a highly-modified Peugeot 306 Maxi four-cylinder 2.0 liter engine making 280 bhp.
Throughout qualifying the van ended up twelfth on the grid from a discipline of 46 automobiles, an astonishing feat by any normal. Through the race there have been some points with the brakes, then the differential, adopted by a race-ending engine failure. These have been all a results of inadequate growth time, and had Peugeot opted to stay with the racing program for the 806 Procar there’s little question it might have been improved additional.
The automobile could be retired from competitors after Spa and it remained within the non-public assortment of the Kronos Racing group till the dying of its founder Jean-Pierre Montron, probably a sign of the sentimental worth it held.
The van is now in non-public fingers with its unique engine and gearbox eliminated, and it’s as a consequence of be bought by Aguttes on the thirteenth of December with a value information of 35,000 – 50,000 which works out to roughly $36,900 – $52,700 USD. In case you’d prefer to learn extra about it or register to bid you’ll be able to go to the itemizing right here.
Photos courtesy of Aguttes
Articles that Ben has written have been lined on CNN, Standard Mechanics, Smithsonian Journal, Highway & Observe Journal, the official Pinterest weblog, the official eBay Motors weblog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Journal, Wired Journal, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and plenty of extra.
Silodrome was based by Ben again in 2010, within the years for the reason that web site has grown to change into a world chief within the different and classic motoring sector, with effectively over one million month-to-month readers from world wide and plenty of a whole lot of hundreds of followers on social media.
