When Le Mans Hypercar regulations first emerged, there was some confusion about whether equivalent street-legal cars were mandatory or not. That fueled rumors about Peugeot having to sell the 9X8 with a license plate but that didn’t happen. The rules left some wiggle room for companies to exploit. Long story short, street cars were not a necessity. However, there is a glimmer of hope for a road-going 9X8 provided your pockets are deep enough.
Speaking with Top Gear magazine, Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson said a 9X8 you can drive on public streets is a possibility. The condition? You’ll have to give the French brand a blank check to change its mind since the hypercar is currently not being developed for road use. Although the prospects of a high-performance electrified machine carrying the lion badge sound exciting, the truth is no one has inquired Peugeot about a road car.
Turning the track model into a street hypercar would finally give Peugeot that performance flagship they’ve been teasing for decades. Over the years, the Stellantis brand has created some incredibly rad concept cars that sadly never saw the light of production day. From the mid-engined Quasar and 217-mph Oxia of the 1980s to the V12-powered 2004 907 and the diesel-electric 2012 Onyx, Peugeot has had a fair share of flagships that never materialized into something more than spectacular showcars.
Our own rendering from a couple of years ago illustrated how the 9X8 could be modified to receive road homologation and give Peugeot its very own Valkyrie. Much like the 9X8, Toyota’s street-legal GR Super Sport hypercar with a claimed output of 1,000+ hp is still a no-show and we’re gradually losing hope it’ll ever happen.
The truth of the matter is it’s tough to build a business case for a hypercar from a mainstream brand since high-end marques already have that segment well-covered.
