After countless hours spent in the garage, a mythical beast has been brought back to life. This Peugeot 106 Cossie features a YB engine and Dimma kit! Feature taken from Retro Cars magazine.
“You guys came and did a tour of my workshop once; that’s when I had my hot rod lawnmower I believe.” Make no mistake: Kent-based Dan here is no stranger to Retro Cars. In fact, we’ve featured more than a few of this serial collector and tinkerers creations over the years, including THAT Lister Storm supercharger-adorned Aston Martin V8 Vantage that successfully raised more than a few eyebrows upon its unveiling.
A gent who’s never too far away from some form of four-wheeled oddity, we thought it was about time we paid another visit to where the magic happens. And after meeting Dan’s latest acquisition, it’s safe to say we were far from disappointed with our findings.
“My friend asked me if I could help him get it running,” Dan begins explaining how he first clapped eyes on this particular Peugeot 106. “As soon as I saw it and began to discover just what it was, I instantly said I wanted first dibs on it if he ever came to sell it.”
Soon proving too much of a mammoth task for his friend to persist with, it didn’t take long for Dan to receive the phone call he’d been waiting for, soon seeing this little hatch making its way over to his premises where a full examination could begin.
Just what was it that he was so keen to get his hands on, then? It only takes the popping of the bonnet to explain the answer. You see, crammed in that dainty engine bay happened to be a YB Cosworth engine, sitting in a longitude fashion that implied the matching running gear has also been transferred over to power all four wheels. No wonder that wide Dimma rally kit had also been added!
“It’s one of three examples prepared by DJM Motorsport several years ago,” Dan continues. “They appeared to be built as fun road cars with roll cages, rather than full-on race cars, and neither of the other two ever made it to the stage where they became reliable road cars as far as I’m aware.” Clearly a fascinating prospect, built by the legendary firm that’s famous for prepping plenty of Mr McRae’s machines amongst others, it all happened around the time when this legendary turbocharged motor was being added to practically every model of car out there by one plucky enthusiast or another.
Previously working as an aircraft engineer and even playing a key part in the legendary Lister Storm race team back in the day, Dan’s extremely experienced eye wasn’t all too impressed with the state the car sat in upon collection. “It was in a sorry state; it showed fabulous potential but was horrible to drive. DJM’s fabrication work was impressive but other aspects left a lot to be desired”.
With the driveshaft inclination showing no less than 30 degrees and the wiring loom made up of harnesses from four different cars, Dan was forced to practically take the entire thing apart and start from scratch when it came to several aspects of the build. Still, with some seriously impressive motorsport-derived parts already attached, and the potential to easily make up to 400bhp from that engine with very little stress, it was a path that was well worth continuing down.
Aside from filling itself with petrol on its way to a dyno run after one of the injectors blew, eight months of gruelling tinkering later and Dan was getting much more content with the shape the 106 was taking. “It started showing little flashes of brilliance,” he grins as the test runs became increasingly fruitful, to the point where he was able to dial in around 340bhp from the Cossie engine at a very safe state of tune (1.2bar).
The engine itself is thought to have been derived from famous Cosworth tuning specialist Supreme Car Services [SCS] and comes with rather special internals such as pocketed pistons and BD16 camshafts, as well as a useable T35 turbocharger. Practically the entire transmission system revolves around standard Cosworth parts to further add to the reliability and ensure everything talks to each other on this extremely unusual application.
DJM went the whole hog when conceiving this beast by adding entirely re-worked suspension mounting points and a new transmission tunnel to the motorsport-prepped bodyshell, helping to accommodate the much beefier powerplant. Rally-spec AVO coilovers that offer plenty of clearance finish the chassis off, with a set of monstrous Wilwood stoppers now tucked under those Braid rally alloys.
With the drivetrain of a much larger car to accommodate, that Dimma Maxi wide-arch kit (that was originally designed for F2 1600 rally cars) is in no way there just for show. It helps to conceal a much wider track that gives it an awesome square, squat stance. If you were unsure about this thing being the real deal from the outside though, one glance in the cockpit will quash all doubts. Dominated by a roll cage and some figure-hugging bucket seats and very few comforts.
It’s still not quite what Dan would call complete, the boost will soon be wound up to around 2bar to yield a power figure close to the 400bhp mark. But that’s not to say he hasn’t been seriously enjoying his latest toy as it is, especially as it’s become a much more controllable beast in his hands. “It’s fierce but seems very sure-footed thanks to it being four-wheel drive. I’m taking it to Lydden Hill soon which will be a real test,” he beams.
Thought to be the only one of the fabled three currently left on the road, Dan’s overjoyed that he’s now able to realise the full potential of his flyweight brute in the way that DJM Motorsport had always intended. But it didn’t come without a hell of a lot of blood, sweat and tears along the way. “Anyone can go and build a car out of a catalogue and it not be a very good car. It’s a lot harder to design something great and get it all talking together.” A bold statement that should give us all something to think about.
Tech Spec: Peugeot 106 Cossie
Engine:
SCS (Supreme Car Services)-built YB 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged Cosworth engine, 200-spec long-stud block with pocketed pistons, multi-layer head gasket, BD16 inlet camshafts, standard exhaust camshaft Piper verniers, T35 turbocharger with 3.1 actuator, Audi R8R LMP intercooler, Grey fuel injectors, iridium spark plugs, aluminium crank- and drive-pulleys, aluminium radiator, custom aluminium header and breather tank, braided lines, Weber Marelli L8 ‘green top’ ECU with SCS chip, five-speed Cosworth manual gearbox, paddle clutch, 4WD conversion including Cosworth differentials and driveshafts.
Chassis:
8×17-inch Braid rally wheels, 215/45/17 Yokohama Neova Advan A048 tyres, DJM Motorsport-prepped bodyshell with bespoke fabrication of suspension mounts and tunnel for Cosworth 4WD running gear, AVO adjustable coilovers, Compbrake adjustable track control arms, Wilwood six-pot calipers with 300mm discs and bells (front), Cosworth calipers with 280mm discs and bells (rear).
Exterior:
Full Dimma Maxi wide-body kit, quick-release bonnet.
Interior:
Recaro (driver’s) and Motordrive (passenger’s) fixed-back bucket seats, Nicky Grist harnesses, welded-in six-point roll cage, ETB digi-dashboard, removable suede steering wheel, 60-litre boot-mounted fuel tank, carbon fibre door cards and glovebox cover.
Feature taken from Retro Cars magazine. Words: Sam Preston. Photos: Adam Rous
