Cars
A record-breaking Peugeot at 407 km/h — well, 405! When marketing does its finest work
In 1988, the WM P88 broke 400 km/h at Le Mans — and helped launch the Peugeot 405 legend.
It is 1988, and the speed record at Le Mans has stood untouched since 1971, when Jackie Oliver’s Porsche 917LH tore down the straight at 386 km/h.
Entered in the race, there is a car with no great ambitions for the 24 Hours itself, yet built with one precise purpose: to exceed 400 km/h on the straight of the HunaudiHunaudières, conceived by Gérard Welter e Michel Meunier. These two Peugeot engineers founded their own team, called WM — the initials of their surnames — as far back as 1969, and year after year they nurtured a dream: the absolute speed record. They made their Le Mans debut in 1976. A story of pure passion, from a time when motorsport was still something two friends could pursue with a workshop and an unshakeable will to create.
