Rallyes are a bit like buses. Not in the literal sense obviously, but you spend an eternity waiting for one to show up and then two come along at once. I’d been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for one of Peugeot’s lightweight legends to crop up in the classifieds, and the recent reveal of the Swiss-only 208 Rallye homage only made the want for a steely-wheeled hot hatch even greater. Then, a couple of weeks ago, a 306 Rallye appeared, the first one I’d seen on PH in yonks. And now look, one of it’s pint-sized siblings is up for sale too.
Is there anything that encapsulates the joy of driving better than a 106 Rallye? Small, featherweight and very manual is a recipe that’s guaranteed to bring you joy behind the wheel, and it’s one we rarely see replicated these days for all sorts of boring safety and environmental reasons. Sigh. Admittedly, the 106 Rallye wasn’t particularly on paper, with just 103hp on tap from a rorty four-cylinder motor, but the fun comes from maintaining momentum and planning how you attack each corner. So you might need a bit of time to get up to speed - but staying there is where the fun starts.
Interestingly, the 106 is the only Rallye built for homologation purposes. Back in the 1990s, when Peugeot gave a damn about motorsport, the French carmaker was looking to enter the World Rally Championship’s booming 1300cc category: an entry-level tier featuring mostly stock superminis that were cheap to buy and, more importantly, cheap to repair after a shunt. The problem was Peugeot’s most potent 106 XSi was powered by a 1.4-litre motor, so it nabbed a 1.3-litre TU-series engine from the PSA parts bin and lightly modified it to produce an impressive 98hp.
This version, however, is one of the later Phase 2 models. It too was a homologation special, only this time for the radical 1600cc class of the mid-to-late 1990s. The road car's engine capacity was therefore enlarged to 1.6-litres, bringing power levels into the triple digits and upping torque from 80lb ft to 97. Unlike the Series 1, the requirement to rag the living daylights out of it to get anywhere was lessened, with power and torque available considerably lower in the rev range. Broadly speaking, that means the Series 2s aren’t quite as characterful as the Series 1s - but measured against anything from 2023, it is still very much a rocket for your pocket.
Better still, Series 2 cars benefitted from the GTI’s suspension layout and discs brakes front and rear, as opposed to the drums on the Series 1. It was still down on power compared to a GTI, but with little soundproofing, ultra-basic cloth seats and no power steering did give the Rallye a significant weight advantage. And then there’s the way it looks. White steelies are not for everyone, and why Peugeot ditched its old yellow, red and blue motorsport colours is beyond me. A trio of colours were available in the UK and although white was by far the most popular, it’s also the best (to my eyes at least).
Not that a ‘common’ 106 Rallye exists these days. HowManyLeft puts the total figure (both Series 1 and 2) registered on the road today at 124, and it’s hard to imagine they’re all in as good a nick as this 1998 example. There are 89,000 miles on the clock and a ‘comprehensive service record’ accrued by its four previous owners, though the seller promises a ‘full service’ before heading to its new owner. That could be you for the not-so-small fee of £12,500, which is only a smidgen cheaper than the bigger and more powerful 306 Rallye we recently featured. That one wasn’t a homologation special, mind, so if you want a Rallye with actual pedigree, look no further.
SPECIFICATION | PEUGEOT 106 RALLYE (SERIES 2)
Engine: 1,587cc four-cylinder
Transmission: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 103@6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 97@3,500rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 1998
Recorded mileage: 89,000
Price new: £9,895
Yours for: £12,500
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