Peugeot 106 S1 rallye GTI Citroen AX Saxo Rally Race History

As 205 GTi production slowly came to a close, Peugeot quickly moved onto its next hot hatch venture: the 106 Rallye.

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Placed on sale in 1994, the S1 106 Rallye was another homologation special, bred from a model used in international rallying it sported a 1.3-litre four-pot engine that served up 103bhp. Combined with a kerb weight of just 810kg, it was good enough to go from 0-62mph in 9.6 seconds. A second generation 106 Rallye followed with the car’s facelift and borrowed the 1.6-litre engine from the 106 XSi which bumped up the horsepower by two.

A little history I think. The Peugeot 106 was an entry-level supermini produced between 1991 and 2004 which made it one of the longest running production cars ever made in Europe, a fact that many still find surprising today. The 106 arrived on the roads of our green and pleasant land with, for the time, modern styling, great handling, decent ride quality and low running costs, all of which combined to create a popular choice as the ideal city car. And then, in 2005, the 106 was replaced by the Peugeot 107, which itself was replaced by the Peugeot 108 in 2014. Peugeot certainly have history when it comes to taking a standard commuter car and giving it a thorough going over, a fact covered in a previous article posted on DriveTribe's The Junk Yard under the title Peugeot 205 GTI: Party Hard and one which looked into the cult of the 205 GTI and it's lasting effect on the consciousness of the hot hatch fan. And that really is a problem for Peugeot as by default, every car with that they have produced since, with that fabled GTI badge on the boot lid, has been and will always be compared against the genius of the original.

The 106 GTI was available to buy from May 1996 and lasted in the range up until 2003, testament to the correctness of Peugeot's original design. Taking inspiration from the design decisions that created the original, the 106 eschewed vast power for an emphasis on light weight and exceptional handling. With it's 1587cc engine producing 120bhp and having to haul along just 950kg, the 106 GTI was certainly fast enough for most, providing the enthusiastic driver with a 0-60 time of 8.6s and a top speed of 128mph. Figures that certainly won't instil fear in the hot (or even warm) hatch driver of today, it's the way that the Peugeot feels out on the road that is so impressive. However, the S1 is widely thought of as the better car, mainly due to its boxier, more aggressive looks that hark back to its rally origins.