LES MANS, France, June 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), an official supplier partner of Peugeot Sport and leading provider of vision-related technologies to the global automotive industry, has equipped Peugeot’s all-new 9X8 Hybrid Hypercar with an intelligent rear vision system designed to optimize the vehicle’s rearward view during the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans and for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
With a focus on performance and safety, Peugeot Sport and Gentex partnered to implement a state-of-the-art digital rearview mirror that will enhance the driver’s visibility and situational awareness during the race. The system is an enhanced racing version of Gentex’s Full Display Mirror (FDM), a digital rearview mirror available on more than 90 passenger vehicles around the world. The technology captures video from a rearward-facing camera and streams it to a mirror-integrated LCD display, providing drivers with a wide, unobstructed view behind the vehicle.
“The Gentex mirror has really changed the game for us, especially in endurance racing in these closed-cockpit cars that we have today,” said Gustavo Menezes, racing driver at Peugeot Sport. “You always had cars in your blind spot and had to assume when to leave the space. Now, fighting through traffic, the moment you see the car that you’ve just overtaken in the Gentex display mirror, you already know that you are clear and can move back to the racing line.”
To highlight the benefits of a digital rear view, Gentex and Peugeot Sport produced a short video featuring interviews with driver Gustavo Menezes and François Coudrain, head of powertrain for Peugeot Sport’s WEC program.
The passenger-vehicle version of the Gentex digital rearview mirror offers bi-modal functionality. In mirror mode, the product functions as a standard rearview mirror. But with the flip of a lever, the mirror enters display mode, and a clear, bright, LCD display appears through the mirror’s reflective surface, providing a wide, unobstructed rearward view.
The Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar is a high-performance racing car designed to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). This season, after a 12-year absence from the Le Mans 24 Hours, the French carmaker is looking forward to following in the footsteps of the brand’s famous endurance models, the Peugeot 905 and Peugeot 908, winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1992 and 1993, and in 2009 respectively.
The flagship race of the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is one of the world’s oldest motor races and is admired around the globe. Started in 1923 as a showcase for car manufacturers to prove the durability of their vehicles in competition it has become the ideal testing ground for a multitude of technology developments which can be subsequently applied across the motor industry. The century of the Le Mans 24 Hours race will take place on 10 – 11 June 2023.
About Peugeot Sport
For more than 10 years, Peugeot Sport has been perfecting its mastery of Hybrid-Electric technology in competition and on the road. After the 908 HY, 908 HYbrid4, 308 R Hybrid and 208 FE projects, neo-performance is now available to everyone with the launch of the new PEUGEOT SPORT ENGINEERED line, which will be supported from 2022 by a new World Endurance Championship (WEC) program.
About Gentex
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics to the automotive industry, dimmable aircraft windows for aviation markets, and fire protection products to the fire protection market. Visit the company website at www.gentex.com.
