It has been decades since the French tried selling their special brand of automobiles here in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean automakers like Peugeot aren’t major players in many motorsports. In fact, the French automaker is readying its latest entry into the unforgiving Dakar Rally, among other insane off-road endurance races that push vehicles to their performance limits.
That Peugeot is participating isn’t the weird thing with this next video. What puzzles us is that this promo for the 2008 DKR race truck is in English, but only just, with all the primary players talking in thick, nearly indiscernible French accents. Like, why?
It could be an attempt to reach out to fans in the U.K., where Peugeot does actually sell its vehicles. Or maybe Peugeot is hoping to make a comeback in America? While not all the stars of this video are household names amongst American motorsports enthusiasts, most of us have probably heard of nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb (though he accomplished that feat driving for French rival Citroen).
Joining Loeb is Cyril Despres, Carlos Sainz, and Dakar veteran Stephane Peterhansel, who has won 11 Dakar rallies driving both cars and motorcycles. That earned him the nickname “Mister D-Akar”, and he’ll have another chance to prove his off-road prowess with his first year driving for team Peugeot. He’ll share driving duties with Sainz, Despres, and of course Loeb behind the wheel of the new-and-improved DKR 2008, boasting a revamped 3.0 liter turbodiesel grinding out 350 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque in a lighter, better chassis. The video all comes together with an homage to that 1980s classic, The A-Team, cigars and gold chains included.
And if Peugeot can prove itself at Dakar, maybe a return to the American market isn’t such a far-out idea after all.