Peugeot Sport has partnered with Capgemini to accelerate and optimize the development of its hybrid hypercar, the Peugeot 9X8, which competes in the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), an international motorsport competition that includes several races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The multi-year partnership, announced in early April, will enable the Peugeot Sport team to leverage Capgemini’s expertise in data analysis and artificial intelligence to analyze the car’s behavior in real time and improve its performance.

Capgemini

Capgemini, a digital services company, was founded by Serge Kampf on October 1ᵉʳ in Grenoble, France, under the name Sogeti.

Today, it has become a world leader in this sector and employs 325,000 people in more than 50 countries. With 55 years of experience and extensive expertise in a variety of industries, it addresses the full range of its clients’ needs, from strategy and design to operations management, through the capabilities of artificial intelligence, cloud, data, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms.

Capgemini sponsors international sporting events, the company is the partner of World Rugby, the Ryder Cup, one of the most important events in golf, and is now partnering with Peugeot Sport.

The partnership for the Peugeot 9X8

Peugeot Sport’s Peugeot 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar is scheduled to make its official debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) this summer, with two cars bearing race numbers 93 and 94. Until then, development work, simulations and tests will continue before the final homologation of the 9X8 by the FIA, which will freeze its technical characteristics until 2025.

For the entire team, engineers, drivers and mechanics, the knowledge of the car in its entirety and its potential will be boosted thanks to the joint use of digital tools from Peugeot Sport and Capgemini.

This technological support is essential and demonstrates the evolution of motor racing. The specific calculation methods, algorithms, and artificial intelligence proposed by Capgemini will complement the software developed for the sport and the automotive industry. For example, this collaboration will allow for more precise management of the energy used, both for acceleration and regeneration (limited by the regulations to 200 kW), which is one of the key points of the performance and reliability of the 9X8 in the championship.

Artificial intelligence and live analysis of the car’s behavior open up a whole new range of possibilities for the teams: assistance with existing technologies that are undergoing major changes in motor sports, performance research, anticipation of a greater number of scenarios, etc.

Jean-Marc Finot, Director of Peugeot Sport, states:

“We are particularly pleased to partner with Capgemini, a leader in digital technologies and a specialist in data and artificial intelligence, for the development and operation of our PEUGEOT 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar. Every meter covered by the PEUGEOT 9X8 on the track or in the simulator will be recorded, analyzed, and interpreted thanks to Capgemini’s high-performance tools, which will complement and optimize the data collected by the team. The association of PEUGEOT and Capgemini is the excellence of French technology that shines on a global scale. This development is the image of the Group’s evolution towards a TechCompany.”

In addition to an all-new efficient and radical aerodynamic design, the Peugeot 9X8 runs on 100% recyclable fuel and uses next-generation batteries, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to innovative and more sustainable mobility.

Jérôme Siméon, Executive Director of Capgemini’s Southern Europe Strategic Business Unit and Member of the Group’s Executive Committee, said:

“We are delighted to accompany Peugeot Sport in this ambitious challenge of making the PEUGEOT 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar an iconic vehicle of its generation. We look forward to putting our cutting-edge data analysis and artificial intelligence capabilities at the disposal of the Peugeot Sport teams. Our common goal is to continuously improve the performance of the Hypercar to make a strong entry into the competition. This partnership with a strong technological dimension reinforces the historical collaboration between Capgemini and the Stellantis Group. It reflects our shared ambitions and values to shape the future of mobility through innovative and sustainable solutions.”

Peugeot production cars will benefit from the advances made by the Peugeot Sport and Capgemini teams as part of this partnership.

Translated from Capgemini et Peugeot Sport partenaires pour le développement de la Peugeot 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar