A new generation of Hypercars have landed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the high-speed battles between the automotive giants gripping motorsport fans around the world. Manufacturers search to find that elusive increase in speed, grip and performance in a world where tenths of a second count between a podium or back end of the top ten. The evolution era has begun, with Peugeot parking its ground effect, wingless wonder for a new-look purposeful 9X8 with 90% of the bodywork completely redefined.
Le Mans Ultimate, the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans go back to the drawing board, with Studio 397 Senior Vehicle Artist Paulo Matias, as he takes us through the changes from the French manufacturer and what details and differences you can expect to see in the latest Hypercar entering Le Mans Ultimate.
The 2023 Peugeot 9X8 was one of the first cars the team built, is there much of a difference between that and the 2024 car?
“One of the first things I did was to compare the two cars to see the differences and it was very interesting to compare both of the cars technically. You can understand so much from this, and I gathered a lot of knowledge on aerodynamics and how the manufacturer approached each car. I got a lot of knowledge from testing the cars in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics. That’s a virtual wind tunnel to you and I) to see the results.
“The cars from Peugeot are totally different cars. The two cars are relatable in terms of shape, but the only things that are the same are the roof, engine cover, rim design and a few other small elements. Some things might look the same but have totally different dimensions.”
Just how different is it – what carry over are there, can you go into more detail?
“Some people might say, ‘just add a rear wing’ – but if we want to continue to make these cars as accurate as possible, there was a lot of change needed, so from our point of view it is a brand-new car.
“The whole body from the door line down are totally different cars. The air ducts on the body from the wingless car are larger to allow air to flow through the floor for ground effect. Not mentioning the obvious wing, the rear is totally new with wing supports and plates at the end of the car and further down the body line as well as a smaller diffuser. If we compare the cars in the same 3D space the difference is clear – the livery on the car can obscure all the hidden details on the body which the players might not see.”
Was there anything reusable and what are some of the key points from the build?
Some bits were reusable, and I was able to modify the nose, grill, front lights and roof as well as most of the interior – the rest is all made from scratch. Even those might look the same, but I needed to change dimensions, angles and profile to match the 2024 car.
“A key point is that last year both front and rear wheels and tyres were the same in all four corners of the car. This year, the 2024 car has narrower front tyres and wider tyres on the rear – now you can start to understand why the floor of the car had to be redone on the real car. With the wider tyres, they had to pull a lot of components inwards, into the chassis to give more space for the larger tyres.
“The aerodynamics from the whole car has had to be reworked for the whole car to take into consideration the new width of the tyres. With the wide tyres, and aerodynamic pressure from the top of the car pushing downwards, the tyres will have more grip and contact with the track, and there is also a bigger gap in the arches to allow for greater compression and aerodynamic weight on the new car too.”
It is a unique car isn’t it, and you saw it first hand for its debut at Imola. How important was it to see it in person, close-up.
“It was really important to visit Imola and capture all the new cars, not just the Hypercars, but GT3 too. It was exciting the see the Peugeot there and it was the latest Hypercar, as the Peugeot was so new, its first event was Imola. That alone came with its own challenges as we got a few small windows of time with the car, but we had so much CAD data and reference photos to help bring it too life from Peugeot too.”
Talk to us about the new details in this car that you can’t wait to show people?
“The whole of the car is fascinating to analyse and interesting to see. All the details are interesting. The most visual thing is obviously the rear wing, but if I had to pick one detail, it has to be the air ducts. There is a smaller percentage of the air going through the car now as Peugeot want the air on top of the car to aid the aero. This was a huge difference and interesting to put together because, if we simulate the car correctly with the real data from the manufacturer, it will behave similar to the real car – better mechanical grip and faster in the corners and less sensitive to bumps and undulation.”
We can’t wait to take the car out on track. Thank you, Paulo!
Will you take your place on the grid?
Those eager to take to the track in the Peugeot will be able to add Pack 1 to their wishlist – https://bit.ly/LeMansUltimateOnSteam on Steam ahead of going on sale. Priced at just £9.99 / €11.99 / $12.99 the Peugeot will form one third of the pack, together with the Lamborghini SC63 and Imola Circuit and will be available on the 23rd July as well as the content filled 2024 Season Pass.
Those not yet on the grid can take advantage of the introductory Early Access game price of £24.99/ €29.99 / $32.99 right here https://bit.ly/LeMansUltimateOnSteam.
The base game features all of the Hypercars and circuits from the 2023 Centenary season as well as the classic LMP2 and GTE cars.
For further news, teases and updates, be sure to follow the Le Mans Ultimate social media accounts as well as www.lemansultimate.com
