GT5 Transcripts/Peugeot 206 Rally Car '99

After a 12-year absence from the WRC, French automobile manufacturer Peugeot decided that it was high time for them to return the most popular form of off-road motorsports in the world. The company chose to race their compact 206 model...and made the WRC regulations work to their advantage.
The WRC rulebook at the time states that a vehicle must be at least 4 meters in length to be eligible, but the commercially-available 206 did not meet this requirement, so Peugeot sold a limited-edition 206GT, one with a longer bumper, to clear this hurdle.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 in the 206WRC racer produced 300 HP, biggest innovation with this machine was its gearbox. The engine compartment was too tight to accommodate a turbo and AWD, so the engineers cleverly placed the gearbox longitudinally behind a now transversely-mounted engine. These engineering complexities led to difficulties for the 206WRC in the early going, but also meant that the French car would have a performance advantage over its adversaries once the technical problems were ironed out. The car proved extremely quick because of its short wheelbase and excellent balance, due to the longitudinal gearbox, especially on the countless tight roads that many rallies were known for. In its first year, driver Marcus Grönholm and his 206WRC won five of the last seven races, winning the Driver's Championship, while Peugeot took the Manufacturer's title in 2000.
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