Video: Sebastien Loeb WAS impressed

For you and me, the very idea of driving a proper WRC spec car is a wild one – it’s 300+ HP, delivered through sequential gearbox to all four wheels, in a manner you can’t exactly call mild or refined. Of course, when you spend enough time in such cars, rallying and testing, year after year, you probably get used to speed, acceleration and the levels of grip.

Sebastien Loeb is no stranger to racing cars outside of WRC – he raced Porsches, McLaren GT3s, and this year he’ll jump into Porsche again, for Supercup races in Monaco and Barcelona. Even though all these cars are proper racing monsters, they cannot really be compared with the ultimate racing machine. Loeb will use it to conquer Pikes Peak this year, and we already heard quite a lot about her.

After completing first test session in Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak, Loeb was visibly impressed with the car. In fact, he went on to confirm that this car demands and requires maximum respect. When nine-times world rally champion says the car is “impressive”, well, you can imagine what kind of car it is. Or, more likely, you cannot.

“This car is impressive – the speed is amazing, and the acceleration is very brutal at first. Same can be said about the gear changes, they stun you at first. It takes some time to get used to the wild and brutal nature of this car.”

“It is also very aerodynamically efficient, and the level of grip is outstanding. Very impressive car!”, said Loeb.