The WRCar era has undoubtedly created some of the most memorable rally cars in the history of the sport. The 555 tobacco blue-liveried Impreza WRC piloted by Richard Burns and of course the wild Colin "McCrash" McRae built under a base model Impreza chassis, or Toyota's European Corolla WRC hatchback confirming the short return of Toyota Team Europe after their cheeky incident with the ST205. Bare shells practically turned into race cars and some to an extent, front-wheel drive formula cars which barely resembled anything to the production model, but that's a story for another time. In 1998, when WRCar regulations were first being introduced, many favored its flexible rules, where they can practically change almost anything to the car, down to body dimensions, unlike previous Group A rules. WRCar regulations also allow a fewer number of racing vehicles to be manufactured in order to meet homologation; 20 race-ready examples rather than the 2500 road-going examples of Group A regs. This made WRCars not only memorable, but also very competitive, edging in between the limits of technology and to see who can out-do which.
Which comes to our topic of attention in today's post. The slightly under-appreciated Peugeot 206 WRC. To many, Subaru's 555 Impreza WRC and Toyota's Castrol Corolla WRC hatchback were some of the prime images of late 90s WRCar era rallying. However, it was during this time that Peugeot joined the fun in WRCar as well, after being successful with their 306 Maxi F2 kit car. Derived from that formula go-kart on a 306 body and with a little inspiration from none other than Toyota's winning formula WRC hatchback, the 206 WRC retained very little of its original road car parts, with the only parts shared being the front headlight housings and the door handles. Changes were made to almost every single nut and bolt imaginable that by the time the car was finished, it barely was anything remotely close to a road-going 206. For starters, wider fenders with bigger wheel wells were placed and molded on to the base chassis, widening the car by 122 millimeters, which by further conversion into centimeters, would yield a result of 12.2 cm! A huge difference in width to the standard car. Further exterior and aerodynamic improvements include a WRCar-specific aero kit for the front/rear bumper and sideskirts as well as a WRCar hatch spoiler on the rear hatch of the vehicle.
Peugeot Talbot Sport also made extensive changes to the car's engine, suspension, and drivetrain system, with a lot of them containing high-tech prototype parts not offered on the production vehicle. The engine was an "evolution" of the XU8 16-valve DOHC inline-4 turbo of the old Group B era 205 T16 Evos, dubbed as the XU9J4. This new engine featured a reworked aluminum block based off of the Group B engine. However, where the original XU8 opted for a short stroke 83 mm by 82 mm configuration, the new WRC engine opted for a long stroke 85 mm by 88 mm configuration in an effort to improve torque. Speaking of which, XU9J4 also had increased displacement from the original XU8 by 200 cubic centimeters in order to comply with regulations; where the previous XU8 had 1775 cubic centimeters of displacement, the XU9J4 had 1997 cubic centimeters instead. A Garrett/Allied Signal TR30R 60mm cast iron turbocharger with a 34mm restrictor was used, helping the engine produce a healthy 300PS at 5250 RPM and a thick torque figure of 525 Nm (53.5 kg-m) at a low 3500 RPM, thanks in part due to the restrictor. The Pug's transmission utilized an X-trac 6-speed semi-sequential gearbox mounted longitudinally despite the engine being a transverse layout setup.
This impossibly uncommon setup was chosen for a number of reasons, one of them being improved weight distribution and another being a more direct torque transfer between the center and rear differentials. The longitudinal setup also helped reduce service interval times as it was easier to access than a transversely mounted gearbox, which would usually need a front suspension component dismantled to get access to. However, having such a rare and uncommon transmission mounting style meant that some of the parts became too overcomplicated and hence lead to many problems during the car's early years. Numerous transmission problems were recorded in between '98 to '99, and eventually by 2001 Peugeot Talbot Sport had to compromise for a gear less, having a 5-speed paddle shift-operated semi automatic in favor of the old 6-speed sequential. The reduction of one gear meant that bigger and stronger gears can be put in place, leading to better durability over the previous years, this in turn with improved electronic control at this point in time meant that PTS (Peugeot Talbot Sport) can effectively utilize their new transmission for better reliability and possibly better performance than the 6-speed. Speaking of electronics, as with many WRCars of its time, Peugeot also adopted an electronically-controlled center and rear differential, with a front electronic differential being added for the 1999 season and above. These trick electronic differentials, derived from their crazy 306 Maxi F2 kit car, work in a way that would suppress any wheelspin while maintaining engine power and would lock the spinning axle until ideal torque distribution is met. In a way, this was sort of like an early version of launch control.
The 206 WRC's suspension system was also backed with a number of electronic gizmos. However, this time it was a lot simpler than the complexity of its electronic differentials and transmission system. Using the existing lower wishbone MacPherson strut system from the road-going car, changes were made to the WRCar's anti-roll bar which is now electronically-controlled, hence the "electronic gizmo" part of the suspension. This hydro-electric system helps in suppressing roll on-the-go by a dynamic anti-roll control system. With the car having basically a massive rework done to almost every inch of its component, it was natural that it could handle very well, and it did. With a wheelbase of only 2443 millimeters, just 57 mm shy of the "commonly" used 2500 mm wheelbase of other WRCars, reducing inertia in an effort to improve the vehicle's nimble characteristics, and with the help of its electronic assists, the 206 WRC was more of a grip-based car than most of its rivals. However, this "grippier" trait of the 206 meant that the vehicle was a lot sharper and a lot faster thru most rally stages compared to its contenders, and this advantage, despite being less "attractive" to witness, becomes a major plus point to the Peugeot Talbot Sport team.
Under the helm of Marcus Grönholm and Gilles Panizzi, both being a master of gravel and tarmac specifically, the 206 WRC managed to cop a total of 24 wins, with 65 podiums and a 5-time constructor's as well as a driver's championship title from the year 2000 to 2002. Gilles Panizzi was heavily credited for the car's success, being a gifted tarmac specialist, he was practically unstoppable in the 206 WRC. He was so fast that during the 2002 rendition of Rallye Catalunya, he managed to do a single donut in front of awed spectators and still win the rally outright. By the time 2003 came along, the 206 WRC was already an obsolete piece of kit, and by 2004 it was no longer deemed competitive by Peugeot, despite the fact that Panizzi himself suggested that the car's overall body dimensions and specifications could still possibly make it competitive as long as more improvements in the engine and drivetrain sector was made. However, the decision ultimately was to retire the car and replace it with the next generation 307 WRC, which despite its bigger dimensions unfortunately could not replicate the success of the 206 as much. To this day, the 206 WRC remained to be the last Pug to claim both a constructor's and driver's title championship consecutively, and considering that there has been no further Peugeots to run in WRC, this will likely be the case for a long time.
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