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Le Mans at motor show


Peugeot’s 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning 908 race car and Bruce Garland’s Isuzu D-MAX Dakar challenger will headline the motorsport line-up at this year’s Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) in Sydney.

The 2009 winner at the legendary La Sarthe race track will form a central part of Peugeot’s stand, allowing race fans to get up close to the car that took Australian David Brabham to his first outright victory in the French Classic.

The 908 HDi FAP of Brabham and co-drivers Alexander Wurz and Mark Gene covered 382 laps of the 13.62 kilometre-long circuit in 24 hours, averaging 216km/h.

Central to the 908’s Le Mans success was the car’s V12 diesel engine which produces more than 515kW of power and more than 1200Nm of Torque.

Peugeot Australia’s general manager and director Ken Thomas believes endurance racing is the ideal test-bed for developing engine technology for its road cars.

“The endurance achievements made by this vehicle represent the future for Peugeot HDi technology,” Mr Thomas said.

“With every lap, with every kilometre, we learn more about the way our engines perform. This is translated into innovative technology – which you see on Peugeots today.  “A perfect example is the 2.0-litre engines we will feature at AIMS in the 3008, 4008 and RCZ, just to mention a few.”

The diesel-powered Isuzu D-MAX that Australian off-road expert Bruce Garland will drive in the 2011 Dakar will be on Isuzu Ute’s stand fresh from its debut outing in September’s Australasian Safari in Western Australia.

While much closer to showroom specification than its open class Dakar rivals, this latest Dakar D-MAX has been further tweaked to stretch its potential in the gruelling enduro.

The 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine in Garland’s D-MAX produces approximately 630Nm of maximum torque and up to 192kW of power – respectively 75 and 60 per cent more than the standard D-MAX engine.

“In the Safari, four-time victor Bruce Garland is aiming to drive his D-MAX up the finish ramp as the first diesel-powered winner of a major Australian motorsport event,” said Isuzu UTE’s marketing general manager Richard Power.

“The show ute is outwardly similar to Garland’s 2009 Dakar D-MAX where he surprised the international field by finishing first production car and 11th outright.

“Its extra grunt this year will give it more top speed against the mega-dollar factory team specials.”

The Australian International Motor Show will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour from 15-24 October.

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