The Peugeot 307 WRC is a

World Rally Car A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...

based on the

Peugeot 307 The Peugeot 307 is a small family car produced by the French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën, under their Peugeot marque, from 2001 to 2008 in Europe, and was the successor to the Peugeot 306, which was discontinued in 2002 after being in product ...

road car. It was used by

Peugeot Sport Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities. History Beginnings in rallying Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champions ...

, Peugeot's factory team, and replaced the championship-winning 206 WRC from

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

Competition history

The vehicle 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

, the car took seven podiums and a maiden win in

Rally Finland Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; fi, Suomen ralli, sv, Finska rallyt) is a rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The ra ...

, but it was not able to challenge for the championship as

Marcus Grönholm Marcus Ulf Johan Grönholm (born February 5, 1968) is a Finnish former rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming FIA World Rallycross Champ ...

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, but the challenge faded after

Markko Märtin Markko Märtin (born 10 November 1975 in Tartu) is a retired rally driver from Estonia, who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2000 until 2005. Career Märtin, as understudy to then-team mates Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, rose to pr ...

's retirement from rallying following the death of Martin's

co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...

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 Petter Solberg (born 18 November 1974) is a Norwegian former professional rally and rallycross driver. Solberg debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999. The following year, Solberg started ...

. Grönholm took victories at

and

Rally Japan Rally Japan (ラリージャパン) is a rally competition held in Hokkaidō, Japan. The event made its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship during the 2004 season. From 2004 to 2007, the event was held on the twisty and narrow gravel roads ...

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

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...

's decision to withdraw the factory teams of both

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

and Peugeot from top level rallying. A private undertaking by seasoned Peugeot preparatory firm

Bozian Racing Bozian Racing is a French auto racing team founded in 1969 by Arthur Bozian. Although it also run in circuits, the rally represents the principal activity of the team. It was related to Renault for a long time. In 2002, Bozian Racing became the s ...

, dubbed ''OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team'', largely assumed responsibility for the running of WRC specification 307s for the following season of

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Manfred Stohl Manfred Stohl (born 7 July 1972, in Vienna) is an Austrian rally driver who debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1991. Stohl's co-driver is fellow Austrian Ilka Minor. Career Stohl ventured into rallying following the career path of his ...

and

Henning Solberg Henning Solberg (born 8 January 1973) is a Norwegian rally and rallycross driver. Together with his female co-driver Ilka Minor, he currently competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) with cars of M-Sport. Solberg is the older brother of t ...

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. Overall, the car has three WRC victories and 26 podiums to its name, Marcus Grönholm having driven it to the top of the podium in the series at the

and

as well as at the

. The 307 WRC will be remembered for the accident that befell WRC competitors

and Michael Park on September 18, 2005, which resulted in

Park's death. On stage 15 of

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

, Märtin lost control of his 307 WRC and collided with a tree, killing Park instantly. This was the first fatality in a WRC event since

Rodger Freeth Rodger "Roj" Vincent Freeth, Ph.D., (24 December 1953 – 18 September 1993) was a New Zealand motor sport competitor. Career He held a Ph.D. in Physics and had a distinguished academic and motorsport career. His first love was motorcycles and ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. The Peugeot 307 has also been raced in the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

, the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...

Stock Car Brasil Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in 1979 with Chevrolet as the ...

TC2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines. ...

and the

Danish Touring Car Championship The Danish Touringcar Championship (abbreviated as the DTC) was a touring car racing series in Denmark. The inaugural year for the DTC was 1999, after the huge success in Scandinavia of the British Touring Car Championship. For the first two years ...

Competition history

WRC victories

WRC results

References

External links