Peugeot 206 WRC

Peugeot 206 WRC
Overview
Manufacturer Peugeot
Production 1999-2003
Body and chassis
Class World Rally Car
Layout 4-wheel drive
Powertrain
Engine 2.0 L (122 cu in) 4-cylinder, 16-valve
Transmission X-trac
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,486 mm (97.9 in)
Length 4,005 mm (157.7 in)
Width 1,770 mm (70 in)
Height 1,300 mm (51 in)
Kerb weight 1,230 kg (2,712 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
Successor Peugeot 307 WRC

Peugeot 206 WRC is a World Rally Car based on the Peugeot 206. It was used by Peugeot Sport, Peugeot's factory team, in the World Rally Championship from 1999 to 2003. The car brought Peugeot the manufacturers' world title three years in a row from 2000 to 2002. Marcus Grönholm won the drivers' title in 2000 and 2002.

History

Juuso Pykälistö driving a 206 WRC at the 2003 Swedish Rally.

In 1999, Peugeot Sport unveiled the 206 WRC, and it competed for the first time in that year's World Rally Championship, with French tarmac veteran and long-time marque stalwart Gilles Panizzi narrowly failing, against a resurgent reigning champion in Mitsubishi's Tommi Mäkinen, to win the Rallye Sanremo. The car was soon a success, however, and won both the manufacturers' and drivers' championships in 2000, Peugeot's first such accolades since their withdrawal from the WRC after Group B was banned after the 1986 season, and achieved in the hands of Panizzi, Francois Delecour and Mäkinen's successor as drivers' world champion, Marcus Grönholm.

For 2001, Grönholm competed alongside two refugees of SEAT's exit from the championship at the end of 2000; compatriot Harri Rovanperä and the French 1994 world champion, Didier Auriol. Rovanperä and Auriol each contributed single wins, on Swedish Rally and Rally Catalunya respectively (the former to be a sole career win for the Finn, and the latter victory helped by assorted problems for the blisteringly quick debuting Citroën Xsara WRCs), before Auriol left the team at the end of the season. Grönholm, meanwhile, suffered sufficient reliability woes in the first half of the year such that he could manage no higher than fourth overall in the series, although Peugeot did fend off Ford, with a 1-2 result by the two Finns on the season-ending Rally of Great Britain to successfully defend the constructors' championship title.

Grönholm's 206 WRC on display.

In 2002, Grönholm despite now being paired in the factory line-up with defending 2001 champion from Subaru, the Briton Richard Burns led Peugeot to a repeat of the WRC title double aboard his 206 WRC. His dominance that year was compared to Michael Schumacher's dominance of Formula One. In summary, Peugeot won two drivers' championships, in 2000 and 2002, and three manufacturers' titles in a row between 2000 and 2002. However, by 2003 the 206 WRC was beginning to show its age and was less effective against the competition, notably the newer Xsara WRC and the Subaru Impreza WRC, so it was retired from competition at the end of the season, to be replaced with the 307 WRC, albeit, unlike its predecessor, based not on the production version's hatchback, but its coupé cabriolet body style.

The Peugeot 206 WRC was awarded the Autosport "Rally Car of the Year" in 2002, preceded by the Ford Focus RS WRC and followed by the Citroën Xsara WRC. Peugeot GB created a Peugeot 206 rally championship aimed at young drivers. The championship was created to help young drivers develop their careers. The cars were built by Vic Lee Racing and drivers such as Tom Boardman, Luke Pinder and Garry Jennings all drove in the championship.

WRC victories

No. Event Season Driver Co-driver
1 Sweden 49th International Swedish Rally 2000 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
2 New Zealand 30th Rally New Zealand 2000 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
3 Finland 50th Neste Rally Finland 2000 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
4 France 44ème V-Rally Tour de Corse 2000 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
5 Italy 42º Rallye Sanremo 2000 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
6 Australia 13th Telstra Rally Australia 2000 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
7 Sweden 50th International Swedish Rally 2001 Finland Harri Rovanperä Finland Risto Pietiläinen
8 Spain 37. Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava 2001 2001 France Didier Auriol France Dennis Giraudet
9 Finland 51st Neste Rally Finland 2001 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
10 Italy 43º Rallye Sanremo 2001 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
11 Australia 14th Telstra Rally Australia 2001 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
12 United Kingdom 57th Network Q Rally of Great Britain 2001 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
13 Sweden 51st International Swedish Rally 2002 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
14 France 46ème V-Rally Tour de Corse 2002 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
15 Spain 38º Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava 2002 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
16 Cyprus 30th Cyprus Rally 2002 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
17 Finland 52nd Neste Rally Finland 2002 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
18 Italy 44º Rallye Sanremo 2002 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi
19 New Zealand 32nd Propecia Rally New Zealand 2002 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
20 Australia 14th Telstra Rally Australia 2002 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
21 Sweden 52nd International Swedish Rally 2003 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
22 New Zealand 33rd Propecia Rally New Zealand 2003 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
23 Argentina 23º Rally Argentina 2003 Finland Marcus Grönholm Finland Timo Rautiainen
24 Spain 39º Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava 2003 France Gilles Panizzi France Hervé Panizzi

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