Peugeot has revealed why it opted for an all-new black, white, and red livery for the 2026 World Endurance Championship.
The French manufacturer is entering its fifth season of competition in Hypercar with the 9X8, having entered the WEC midway through 2022.
In the 2026 season, it continues the tradition of introducing a fresh livery, one that stands out sharply from its predecessors.
The 'lion' is now dressed in a zebra-like pattern, alternating black and white across much of the bodywork, and highlighted with touches of red.
"The first time I saw it, I was kind of, 'wow, that's new'," Alain Favey, CEO of Peugeot told the media, including Motorsport.com.
"In the end, you think, 'well, that's what we want'. We want the car to be visible on the track. We ended up going for it and we like it very much. Now that I see it live, I like it really a lot."
The goal of a “strong” livery
Head of design Matthias Hossann explained the ambition behind the livery change.
"I think this is something probably unique to Peugeot. Because if you look at all the generations of the 9X8, we start with the Selenium Grey," he said.
"After, you were used to what you call the Demski, which was almost an art car. After, the one with the lion, and this one this year.
"In fact, it's more than a livery. For me, it's almost becoming an art car. If you look at what's happened within the other competitors, I believe we have something which is really strong. And I think this is also the goal of doing a strong livery.
"It's to really exist visually, to have a strong visual print. And I think with this one, we have something quite strong and quite unique within all the competitors."
Hossann then described the genesis of the concept itself: “We used to start with the claw. The three-claw signature, which is our signature. We have the light signature, which is also the signature of Peugeot Sport.
"We have the three claws. And we distort these claws all over the car. So it represents the speed.
Even when the car is static, like today, if you turn around, you have this feeling of motion, of dynamics.
"Also black and white refers to all the data. Because I was honestly super impressed by the use of data input.
"And the red. It's obvious when we have a 205 GTI with this touch of red. And this year will be the GTI year for Peugeot. That's why we add this small touch of red on this livery."
