Peugeot racing legends up for auction

RM Sotheby’s is auctioning two of Peugeot’s most famous race cars at its Monaco auction on May 14.

The first is an example of Peugeot’s legendary Group B car, a 205 T16 (serial number C11) piloted by Ari Vatanen to victory in the 1985 Monte Carlo and Swedish rallies.

The Monte Carlo victory is one of the greatest wins in the history of the sport. Having established a lead of almost four minutes, a timekeeping mistake by Vatanen’s co-driver Terry Harryman resulted in the pair receiving an eight-minute penalty.

Vatanen put in the drive of his life, winning 14 of the remaining 16 stages to turn a four-minute deficit into a 5min17sec victory.

Following its competition career, C11 was sold to a prominent Peugeot collector before changing hands once more in 2001. It is expected to sell in the A$925,000-$1,250,000 range.

The second offering is one of Peugeot’s fearsome 908 HDi FAP Le Mans cars, which achieved second overall at the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour.

This was the era of diesel dominance, which might sound boring, but actually led to Audi and Peugeot producing some of the fastest and most powerful cars ever to race at La Sarthe.

Powered by a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V12 diesel, the 908 HDi produced over 522kW/1200Nm which gave it incredible acceleration. Drivers of the time speak in reverent tones when they recall the outrageous grunt they had to deal with during this era.

Chassis 908-05 went on to win the 2009 Petit Le Mans and the 2010 1000km of Algarve before being retired from competition and is expected to fetch between A$1.85-2.45m.

For more information on the cars click Peugeot 205 T16 or Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.