An un-thrashed Peugeot 106 Rallye S2? Hot hatches don't get much rarer

If you think cars can only be fun if they have 1000bhp engines and bulbous coachwork covered in spoilers, splitters and winglets, this month’s dealer car might not be for you. But if a bean-can body, a no-frills interior and a revvy 1600cc motor paired with a slick five-speed manual gearbox sounds like your idea of driving heaven, read on.

Peugeot introduced the first 106 Rallye at the Paris Motor Show in 1993 before homologating it in January the following year, enabling the marque to compete in the sub-1400cc rally categories of Group N and Group A.

Although the original Rallye’s four-cylinder engine displaced just 1294cc, a hot cam, high-compression cylinder head and a 7200rpm red line made for an output of around 100bhp in a car weighing just 825kg, meaning it could touch 115mph and fully deliver on Peugeot’s promise – so the advertising tagline of the time said – to provide “Fewer frills, more thrills”.

The 1996 facelift of all models in the 106 range led to the Rallye S2, a slightly less frantic, slightly more refined successor with a 1600cc, fuel-injection engine that made 102bhp at a more conservative 6200rpm. It even had electric windows.

A mere 500 of the 4300 or so S2s built made their way to the UK in right-hand-drive form, some in Bianca White, others in Indigo Blue – and, inevitably, plenty were thrashed, bashed and crashed and even more were ‘modded’ with upgrades such as 16-valve engines and lowered suspension.

The Indiglo Blue example on offer with Redditch-based hot-hatch specialist Driving Heroes is, however, a real rarity in that it has survived in full factory specification, complete with its original, white-painted steel wheels, minimalist Rallye decals and pristine interior. It even retains its Clarion radio cassette alongside those lovely, blue-hued Jaeger instruments.

The car’s previous owner was a collector of modern classics who specifically wanted an unmodified 106 Rallye to fill a gap in his motorhouse. When this one turned up, it was already in exceptionally good condition – but that didn’t prevent the meticulous buyer from spending £10,000 on the car to bring it to the near concours condition it’s in today.

Work carried out included a full mechanical overhaul of the engine, transmission and running gear, replacement of the exhaust system with a factory original and a full set of grippy Yokohama tyres.

When this was a new car, it would have cost less than £10,000. And, 10 years later, the owner of an original, well-maintained example would not have expected to sell it for more than £3000.

But that was before the generation of people to whom such cars really meant something had as much disposable income as they do now – and when a decade-old Peugeot hatchback was just another ageing second-hand motor without much in the way of luxuries.

Times have certainly changed, though. And now we’ve decided that less really might be more after all – and not just in terms of monetary value.

1998 Peugeot 106 Rallye S2
On sale with Driving Heroes, Redditch. Asking: £18,995. drivingheroes.co.uk

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