To homologate the 206 World Rally Car, Peugeot was required to sell road-going versions of the 206 that were at least 4.0 metres long, a minimum length stipulated by the FIA for WRC cars. The WRC car was homologated using the 206 Grand Tourisme, a variant similar to the standard 206 but with front and rear body extensions to achieve the necessary length, increasing it from the standard road car’s 3.83 meters to 4 metres. A total of 4000 of these cars were produced, each identified by a unique number on a plaque on both sides of the door pillar, with 600 right-hand drive cars made for the UK market. The mechanical components fitted to the Grand Tourisme were those intended for the upcoming 206 GTI, which had not yet been released.
The Peugeot 206 WRC was unveiled by Peugeot Sport in 1999. The car initially competed in the World Rally Championship that year, with Gilles Panizzi narrowly missing victory at the Rallye Sanremo.
The 206 WRC quickly proved successful, winning both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships in 2000 – Peugeot’s first titles since withdrawing from the WRC after Group B was banned in 1986. This success was achieved with drivers Gilles Panizzi, Francois Delecour, and Marcus Grönholm.
In 2001, Grönholm was joined by Harri Rovanperä and Didier Auriol, both former SEAT drivers. Rovanperä and Auriol each secured a single win – on the Swedish Rally and Rally Catalunya respectively – before Auriol departed the team. Despite reliability issues for Grönholm in the first half of the season, Peugeot successfully defended its constructors’ championship with a 1-2 finish by the two Finnish drivers at the Rally of Great Britain.
Grönholm continued his success in 2002, leading Peugeot to a repeat of the WRC title double, despite being paired with Richard Burns, the defending 2001 champion from Subaru. His dominance that year drew comparisons to Michael Schumacher’s performance in Formula One. In total, Peugeot won two drivers’ championships (2000 and 2002) and three consecutive manufacturers’ titles between 2000 and 2002.
By 2003, the 206 WRC was beginning to show its age and was less competitive against newer cars like the Citroën Xsara WRC and the Subaru Impreza WRC. It was retired from competition at the end of the season, replaced by the 307 WRC, which was notably based on the coupé cabriolet body style rather than the production version’s hatchback.
The corpus does not contain information regarding any regulatory outcomes resulting from the Peugeot 206 WRC.
The Peugeot 206 WRC was awarded the Autosport “Rally Car of the Year” award in 2002, following the Ford Focus RS WRC and preceding the Citroën Xsara WRC. Peugeot GB established a Peugeot 206 rally championship aimed at developing young drivers, with cars built by Vic Lee Racing and driven by competitors such as Tom Boardman, Luke Pinder, and Garry Jennings.
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