Peugeot 307 WRC

Lore & Background

The Peugeot 307 WRC was plagued by transmission problems throughout its career, and the works team's drivers' driving styles did not suit the car's handling characteristics. In 2004, the car took seven podiums and a maiden win in Rally Finland, but it was not able to challenge for the championship as Marcus Grönholm finished fifth in the drivers' championship and Peugeot fourth in the manufacturers' championship.

The 2005 season was more successful, and Peugeot was a serious challenger for the manufacturers' championship, leading the championship after round 10. However, the challenge faded after Markko Märtin's retirement from rallying following the death of his co-driver Michael Park during the 2005 Wales Rally of Great Britain. Peugeot ultimately finished second in the manufacturers' championship, while Grönholm finished third in the drivers' championship, tied on points with second-placed Petter Solberg. Grönholm took victories at Rally Finland and Rally Japan along with six other podium finishes, while Märtin took four further podiums.

The car saw its factory supported competition life cut short at the end of 2005 by PSA's decision to withdraw the factory teams of both Citroën and Peugeot from top level rallying. A private undertaking by seasoned Peugeot preparatory firm Bozian Racing, dubbed OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team, largely assumed responsibility for the running of WRC specification 307s for the following season of 2006. Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg were named as the driving personnel. Stohl impressively placed fourth in the overall drivers' standings, and the 307 WRC took seven podiums by privateer teams that season.

Reader's Guide

The Peugeot 307 WRC's significance lies in its role as the successor to the highly successful 206 WRC, yet it never matched that car's championship success. Despite persistent transmission issues and a handling character that did not suit its factory drivers, the car managed three WRC victories—all by Marcus Grönholm—and a total of 26 podiums. Its most notable season was 2005, when Peugeot led the manufacturers' championship after round 10 before the tragic death of co-driver Michael Park during the Wales Rally of Great Britain led to Markko Märtin's retirement and the team's championship challenge faltering. Peugeot finished second in the manufacturers' championship that year. The car's legacy is also marked by the accident that killed Park, the first fatality in a WRC event since 1993. After PSA withdrew both Peugeot and Citroën factory teams from top-level rallying at the end of 2005, the 307 WRC continued in privateer hands under the OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team, where Manfred Stohl achieved fourth in the drivers' standings and the car took seven more podiums in 2006. Overall, the 307 WRC is remembered as a flawed but occasionally competitive machine, overshadowed by its predecessor's success and forever linked to a tragic event.

Did You Know?

• Marcus Grönholm drove the 307 WRC to victory at Rally Finland in 2004 and 2005, and at Rally Japan in 2005.
• The car was involved in the first WRC fatality since 1993, when co-driver Michael Park died in a crash on the 2005 Wales Rally of Great Britain.
• After factory support ended, privateer team OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team ran the 307 WRC in 2006, achieving seven podiums.

From Rally Dominance to Sportscar Ambition

After claiming back-to-back Rallye World Championship titles in 1985 and 1986, Peugeot found itself without a platform when the turbocharged all-wheel-drive Group B cars were outlawed for the 1987 WRC season. The marque pivoted toward offroad endurance events such as the Dakar Rally during the interim years. That pause, however, set the stage for an ambitious return to circuit racing. In November 1988, Peugeot Talbot Sport—the racing arm established under Jean Todt at the Vélizy-Villacoublay facility in the Paris suburbs—formally announced the 905 project, targeting the 1991 World Sportscar Championship and its new regulations that drew closer to Formula One engineering. The result was a machine of remarkable sophistication: a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis engineered by Dassault, paired with a 3,499 cc, 40-valve, 80-degree naturally aspirated V10 producing 650 PS at 12,500 rpm. The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout was paired with a six-speed sequential gearbox, and the whole package weighed just 780 kg. Officially unveiled on 4 July 1990 at Magny-Cours with Jean-Pierre Jabouille behind the wheel, the 905 represented Peugeot's boldest foray into endurance sportscar competition.

A Career Defined by Le Mans Glory

The 905 first tasted competition at the tail end of the 1990 World Sportscar Championship, with Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Keke Rosberg sharing duties across the 480 km races at Montreal and Mexico City. Though it trailed the established Group C prototypes in outright pace, it proved distinctly faster than its fellow 3.5-litre rivals. Over the course of its competitive life, the car entered 17 races and claimed 9 victories—a win rate that speaks to its underlying competitiveness once the kinks were ironed out. The crowning achievements came at Le Mans. In 1992, Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas, and Mark Blundell drove the 905B to the 24 Hours victory, and that same season the car secured both the drivers' and teams' World Sportscar Championship titles. The following year, Geoff Brabham, Christophe Bouchut, and Éric Hélary repeated the feat in the 905B, and Peugeot went further still by sweeping the first three finishing positions at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans—a display of outright dominance that sealed the car's place in endurance racing history.

The 1991 Gauntlet and the Birth of the 905B

Peugeot's first full campaign in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship exposed both the car's potential and its limitations. Early-season reliability and performance issues plagued the team, and more critically, the 905 could not match the pace of the Jaguar XJR-14, a car whose lap times rivaled those of most contemporary Formula One machines. A fortunate victory at Suzuka provided a highlight, but at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans both Peugeot entries failed to survive beyond the four-hour mark. In response, the team undertook a sweeping aerodynamic overhaul, retaining only the cockpit from the original design. The resulting 905B featured a two-tier rear wing, an optional full-width front wing, and a more potent SA35-A2 engine delivering roughly 715 hp. It debuted at the Nürburgring round and immediately transformed the team's fortunes, producing back-to-back 1-2 finishes at Magny-Cours and Mexico. Peugeot closed the 1991 season in second place overall. By 1992, with only Toyota's TS010 as a factory rival under the 3.5-litre rules, the 905B brought two of Peugeot's three cars home in first and third at Le Mans.

Beyond the 905: Peugeot's Racing Odyssey

With the World Sportscar Championship cancelled after 1993, Peugeot's sportscar program reached its natural conclusion. A successor, the 905 Evolution 2, had been started and even lapped the track during practice at the 1992 season finale at Magny-Cours, but it was never completed. Instead, Peugeot focused all its energy on the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Evo 1B, where the historic sweep of the top three positions provided a fitting farewell. The marque then made a bold strategic pivot: the very 3.5-litre V10 that powered the 905 was adapted to Formula One regulations, and in 1994 Peugeot debuted as an engine supplier to McLaren. That F1 chapter lasted until the close of the 2000 season, when, after limited success, the company redirected its motorsport resources toward the World Rally Championship, where its factory team had previously claimed multiple titles. Peugeot withdrew its works WRC operation at the end of 2005, only to circle back to Le Mans in 2007 with the all-new 908 HDi FAP prototype—a full circle from the 905's pioneering spirit.