Peugeot is already testing the completely redesigned 9X8 for 2027

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies carried out the first laps with the evolution of the 9X8 that it will field in the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship at Paul Ricard. Images captured during the private test show a prototype with a completely redesigned front and rear, to the point that it is difficult to recognise the Hypercar that debuted in 2022 with an engineering concept that broke all conventions.

The original 9X8 was born without a rear wing, a decision Peugeot defended as a commitment to innovation within the LMH regulations, but its on‑track behaviour never achieved a competitive balance over full races, and its sensitivity to different tracks gradually pushed it away from the front positions. In 2024 the French team changed course, adding a conventional rear wing and comprehensively revising the aerodynamics. That update partially improved the prototype's performance, though it did not turn it into a regular race‑winner contender.

Of the manufacturers with established factory programmes in Hypercar, all but one have scored at least one outright victory. Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW and Alpine already know what it is like to reach the top step. Aston Martin and Genesis have not yet won, but both started their participation recently. Peugeot is still chasing its first victory. Its best result dates from the 2025 6 Hours of Fuji, when Paul di Resta, Mikkel Jensen and Jean‑Éric Vergne finished second, less than eight seconds behind the winner. At Spa 2026, Malthe Jakobsen took pole, the team's first since its return, but the race pace again fell short.

The spy shots reveal a silhouette that abandons much of the original 9X8 visual identity to move closer to the philosophy of the Hypercars that currently fight for victories, marking the second major correction of the project and, given the scale of the changes, the most drastic. Fans have noted the resemblance of the new front end to the Peugeot 905, the prototype with which the French manufacturer won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1992 and 1993.

Peugeot has already used its five Evo Jokers allowed under the LMH regulations and exhausted its single re‑homologation, so to introduce a package of this scope the team requested that the FIA apply the clause included in the 2026 sporting regulations. That clause authorises additional modifications when a manufacturer can demonstrate a performance disadvantage. The start of testing at Paul Ricard confirms that, even before receiving a definitive response, the French team is already working on what could be the most profound transformation of a Hypercar during the current regulatory cycle. Ferrari also made a move this week with a test at Monza focused on the evolution of its 499P for 2027.

Emmanuel Esnault, the team principal, acknowledged that the intensity of the competition pushes for continuous evolution and that the stated goal is to turn the 9X8 into a regular podium contender, something that so far has only happened sporadically.