Peugeot 106 Rallye | PH Auction Block
Talk about a breath of fresh air. Annual Service can't come soon enough...
It is a physical effort these days not to write ‘we’ll never see its like again’ as a closing argument for pretty much any car that isn’t electrified up the wazoo. In many cases, of course, it is valid. But this year - and the slowdown associated with it - has also reiterated just how much life is left in the combustion engine. Porsche has long confirmed it will build flat-six-powered 911s until the last possible moment. Lamborghini has stalled its EV plans in favour of many more (mildly) hybridised V8s. Ditto Bentley. Aston has only just launched a new V12. BMW will electrify the next M3 - but also offer something petrol-powered alongside.
In other words, and in many ways thanks to the buying public voting with its feet, the prospect of big, multi-cylinder engines slipping beneath the surface of an unending tidal wave of EVs is somewhat overblown. Assuming you can live with an e-motor benignly chipping in at low revs, you’ll be able to hear the sound of fuel being expensively turned into fun for at least the foreseeable future. And even potentially beyond 2035 if all the investment in synthetic fuels starts to pay off in a meaningful way.
What you absolutely will not be able to do is buy a supermini with a high-revving petrol engine not much bigger than a shoebox. We know this because that end of the market, which always subsisted on a margin not fatter than a shoelace, is essentially dead already. The one battery-powered thing carmakers are actually clamouring to build is an entry-level, small(ish) EV that recreates the affordability of a runaround. Anything that doesn’t resemble that solution has been kicked to the curb like a half-eaten kebab.
This makes cars like the Peugeot 106 Rallye, already fondly remembered, seem positively otherworldly. To the extent where it feels like you no longer need to explain the appeal of a car that develops only 100hp, but weighs in the region of 825kg. The ‘fewer frills, more thrills’ ethos is easy to appreciate in a marketplace where most mainstream cars are two-and-a-half-tonne bulk carriers for an infotainment screen. If you like the sensation of driving even a little bit, the dinky Peugeot is going to seem like a revelation.
It was fairly revelatory even for the mid-‘90s thanks to the requirements of Group N homologation. Its maker had to go to the trouble of shrinking its existing 1.4-litre four-pot to limbo it beneath the 1,300cc regulatory cut-off, before fitting a Magneti Marelli injection system and juicier cam profile. The result, when mated to a short-ratio manual ‘box, was famously capable of revving beyond 7,000rpm, and keeping a smile on your face so wide that you endlessly forgave the car’s complete lack of creature comforts.
There were only ever 1,000 examples produced and, needless to say, many fewer than that have survived so much exhilaration. This one, up for auction next month and due to take pride of place at Annual Service, is assuredly among the finest. We know this partly because it looks magnificent and has covered comparatively few miles, but also because its current owner has clung onto it for 20 years, treating it to a respray in that time. It’s a can’t-miss modern classic. And we’ll never see its like again.
The second was a part exchange, in red, which I only ran for a week but managed a memorable trip from Ipswich to Cadwell Park at what felt like nothing under 5000rpm.
The first was white, M220DGV. As a Peugeot sales executive in the mid 90s, these were actually quite a hard sell. UK buyers hadn't woken up to the 'less is more' basic, lightweight specials like this. Ours was old stock and due for full payment, so it was registered as my demonstrator.
I put over 12000 miles on it in just under 8 moths, until someone bought it off our stand at a country show (despite my trying to put him off with tales of the lack of creature comforts and how uncomfortably noisy it could be). I missed it immediately and the 306 dturbo that followed was a bit 'nice' in comparison.
My brother had just started working full time and needed a car, so bought a106XS ( 1994) and I had just started a uni placement at a business in the midlands so was also on the look out for a car, and stumbled across the 106 rallye brochure amongst his dealer handouts
I managed to get a great deal, on new, and picked it up a week later. The first drive in it was a revelation ( I came out of a 1.1 AX). It just seemed so stiff, with loads of grip and handled and was fast ( even with the old school no more than 4k rpm for the first 1000miles recommendation)
First drive was down the motorway from Harrogate to Burton on Trent, where I raced anything I could including an Austin Ambassador that had the temerity to try to overtake me, until I gave it the beans as it pulled along side in the fast lane of the M1. ( a bell end move on my part, but he needed to learn.
To be fair it was completely hopeless as a motorway cruising vehicle, 85 @ 5k and no AC was not great in the summer of 95, but what a car the rest of the time.
that first year saw 27k miles on it, an autotest, a couple of track days and possibly the fastest ever trip from Edinburgh to Harrogate returning from Hogmany (as Soxboy would attest)
Really really cool cars.
And you should have seen the look on my brothers face when I rolled up with it and parked it next to his brand new XS. bonfire pissed on!
I sold it to a guy in HK because I started to struggle to get parts for it. Replacing it with a Megane R26. I do keep an eye out for both series though.
I think I bought in its stead a 205 Rallye but it didn’t have the same hyperactive feeling as the 106and ultimately didn’t stay long chez Windsock.
I spent good money on my Rallye, refurbishing the rear beam, wheels along with replacing every single suspension component.
The 106 was a great event to drive, in the sense that my son loved it and I’ve never felt so adored by white van men in my life! But.. driving it never really lit my fire. Super cool cars, but I’d take a Clio 182 or MK7 Fiesta ST for B road thrills.
I spent good money on my Rallye, refurbishing the rear beam, wheels along with replacing every single suspension component.
The 106 was a great event to drive, in the sense that my son loved it and I ve never felt so adored by white van men in my life! But.. driving it never really lit my fire. Super cool cars, but I d take a Clio 182 or MK7 Fiesta ST for B road thrills.
I owned one as a in between car, bought it for little money, drove it a few weeks and bought my next more sporty car.
what do I remember from it? not much, I've been spoiled with many way faster cars, but that was not a excuse... because I also owned a little way less powered Daihatsu Cuore and that thing felt alive... as in fun, more then that 106 Rallye, otherwise I would remember that.
my old in between car Rallye
and another cheap in between car the Cuore (was more fun)
I spent good money on my Rallye, refurbishing the rear beam, wheels along with replacing every single suspension component.
The 106 was a great event to drive, in the sense that my son loved it and I ve never felt so adored by white van men in my life! But.. driving it never really lit my fire. Super cool cars, but I d take a Clio 182 or MK7 Fiesta ST for B road thrills.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a great little car to venture out for a Sunday morning B road scramble.. but the novelty wore off quicker than I expected.
Not a single one of them has ever beaten the Rallye for pure motoring fun.
Don t get me wrong, it was a great little car to venture out for a Sunday morning B road scramble.. but the novelty wore off quicker than I expected.
I thought it was a cracking car. Going from 30mph to NSL was an event. Taking it to near the limiter, changing gear to be right back at 5k ish to be straight back in the power band heading back to 7k rpm again. Manic fun.
Do that while wipping through the gears, then look down at the speedo and it was just hitting 60mph.
Low power can be fun as the engine and that real close ratio gearbox were really well matched. Peugeot really knew how to make fun engines. Compared to a Ford CVH this thing would love to sit at high revs and it did not feel like it was being punished.
Regards noise, yes had to drive on motorway at 60mph. But the GR Yaris is also pretty noisy inside so similar in that respect (well, no engine noise from the GR 😀).
I sold mine after getting into a lift off oversteer 'tank slapper', managed to save it but put me and the misses who was also in the car off it. In hindsight I should have checked date code of rear tyres, because on something lightweight like this, they probably hardly wear and might have been ancient.
I used to live near where Pistonheads do their main reviews, and Ive got a video of when I came across a 306 Dturbo during a drive. I was working my socks off and they were probably just pottering along in 4th gear 😀.
You have to be in the mood and if your an overtake lover it's not the car for you, but it was great fun working the car hard only to be travelling at the speed limit.
Ha, I just remembered when the indicator stalk 'fused' and smoke started coming out. I managed to force it off and the smoke stopped. Easily sorted with a trip to the scrappy. The same thing happened to a friend with a Citroen ZX at a similar time!?!
I expect in the past people took out the close ratio Rallye gearbox (to make long distance driving easier) and put in something else, but I imagine that would kill the soul of the car.
Back towards the late 90s I remember me and a friend looking around a Peugeot garage and seeing a Rallye for the first time, we could not believe how 'minimal' it seemed inside for the price. Then going all goo goo over a laser green 205 GTi 1.9.
Pre Internet days did have it's joys, discovering things like cars, computers and consoles you never knew existed in real world visits to shops. Now we have to know it all before we have got out of bed in the morning!
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