In the Peugeot the gearbox (manufactured by the English specialist X-Trac) is longitudinally mounted at the rear of the engine, in an almost central position although the car's engine is transversally mounted at the front. This is a surprising mechanical architecture that has rarely been implemented before and is nowadays only to be found on the Ford Focus WRC. The advantages of this implementation are obvious:

• Better mass distribution

• Lower inertia in the front axle

• Easy access to the gearbox (usually one front suspension has to be dismounted to provide access to a transversally mounted gearbox)

• Direct torque transfer to the central differential and rear axle

• Possibility to use larger, stronger gearboxes and gears (there's more space available for their implementation)

Mechanically though, mounting the gearbox longitudinally when the engine is mounted transversally is very complex and can lead to mechanical failures. The numerous transmission problems the 206 WRC cars had during the 1999 season witness the company's efforts to render the setup more reliable. Starting with the 2000 season, the 206 WRC sequential gearbox is operated through small, steering wheel mounted, levers just like in the Subaru Impreza WRC. By the middle of the 2001 season the progress made in the electronic engine management system was such that, in combination with a new smaller turbocharger, usable torque was available through a very wide range of engine rev speeds. Due to the improved engine torque availability Peugeot was the first manufacturer to start using 5 speed gearboxes instead of the more classic 6 speed ones. Reliability was improved as 5 speed boxes can use larger, stronger gears while heat can be maintained to reasonable levels. Note that in the 206 WRC all the lubrification is performed by the same oil which is used in the engine, gearbox, differentials and power assisted steering. All the oil is collected to a single, multi-channel, water to oil heat exchanger for cooling and is then redistributed to the different mechanical parts.

A 206 WRC early prototype

The 206 WRC project had already fixed a few important milestones in the beginning of  its development. The project started in January 1998. The Peugeot 206 commercial line was launched, in France, by September 1998. Between February and March 1999 Peugeot developed the prototype that would allow them to homologate the car with the FIA. By April 1999 the company had to manufacture the 20 cars that will allow the FIA to produce its homologation sheet. The first official race for the car was to be the Tour de Corse rally in May 1999 (the 205T16 also debuted its rally career at the Corsican event, simple coincidence?). In the months that preceded the official re-entry of a Peugeot 4WD car in the WRC a certain number of prototypes were destroyed while testing. Gilles Panizzi, one of the official 206 WRC drivers, had a particularly impressive accident in Corsica and the related images and movies were largely circulated on the Internet. Luckily, although the car was completely destroyed, Gilles came out unhurt.

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