1987 Peugeot 309 GTi 16V Group A ex-Works

Built in 1988, E777 KKV is a Works 'Group A' rally car originally allocated to Kalle Arundel to compete in the British Rally Championship. Competing in all rounds of the series, the car was competitive in class, taking several wins and consistently finishing in the top ten overall. For both the 1989 and 1990 seasons, the car was driven for the Works team by Hakan Ericsson (brother of Kenneth) who took many class wins and an amazing fourth overall in the 1991 Welsh Rally.

However, during 1991, a young up-and-coming Englishman, Richard Burns, had won the Peugeot Cup and factory team leader, Des O’Dell, was keen to promote his young star on the International stage. His goal was to find the next British driver to take on the World Rally Championship, so a late entry was put in for the 1991 RAC Rally in this car for Burns and co-driver Robert Reid. Seeded at number 59, they were quickly on the pace and by the end of day one they had halved their ranking and were lying in 30th place overall.

Conditions over the next few days were very damp and foggy, which suited the little Peugeot very well and, by the time Clocaenog and Hafren were completed, the pair were well inside the top 20 with only one other two-wheel drive car ahead of them. Richard, at the tender age of just 20, was making his presence felt for the first time at the very top of the sport as his fastest times in class continued through the famous Northern stages in Kielder Forest.

By the finish, after four gruelling days, he delivered a dominant 'two-wheel drive' class victory and a fine 16th place overall out of 150 starters. Their names were now established and the pair would go on to a magnificent future, winning the British Rally Championship outright in 1993 with Subaru, winning his first round of a World Championship - the Safari Rally in 1998 - and going on to eventually become World Rally Champions in 2001 for Mitsubishi.

After the 1991 RAC Rally, Peugeot stored the car until 1998 when it was finally sold to privateer, Ian Patterson, who only contested the Scottish Rally that year. By this stage, Richard Burns' career was flying and he recognised that this very car from his early days had given him his first big break, so he personally bought it back in 1999 and had it fully professionally rebuilt and restored. It became the first car to form the start of a significant Collection of his competition and road cars and occupied pride of place within the Richard Burns Collection until his untimely death in 2005 from a brain tumour, aged just 34.

Since then, his family have maintained the car professionally at Autosportif Engineering and it has made appearances at various high-profile events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Wales Rally GB and the Autosport Show at the NEC. It also appeared in August 2021 at the Castle Combe Rally Day to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Richard and Robert’s World Championship win and is presented today in 'turn key' condition, ready to be used at significant events in the future to celebrate the success of the remarkable pair of Richard and Robert.

Richard is the only Englishman to have ever won the World Rally Championship and is fondly remembered by all the World’s rallying community as a true gentleman and a great competitor. This car is a significant part of his history and this is a rare opportunity to acquire such an important ex-Works car today. Simple to run and relatively straightforward to drive, E777 KKV will always be welcome at many special events worldwide and we invite and encourage you to come along to Race Retro and admire this rather special little Peugeot.