Craig Breen, Peugeot's up-and-coming rally star, has just received the keys to his new 200hp 208 GTi company car, as he gears up to take on the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) this year.
It's claimed by Peugeot that Breen is seen as one of the greatest young rally drivers in the world today and there's plenty of evidence to substantiate this. At the age of 23, the driver has already won the FIA WRC Academy twice, and came third in the ERC series last year in a Peugeot 207 S2000. This year, Breen will return to the ERC in the new 208 T16 rally car, a racer he was testing during his down time in 2013.
Like the car Breen will be using to compete in next year, the young driver's new 208 GTi is left-hand drive. And while the power won't be quite the same, his new company car does come with sports seats, a leather trimmed steering wheel, a twin-exit chrome exhaust outlet, 17-inch alloys, a 9.7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, cruise control and automatic lights and wipers.
"The Peugeot 208 GTi drives like an absolute dream and it looks fantastic," commented Breen. "My thanks go to Peugeot Sport and Gowan Distributors for my new company car."
Anything else?
Breen's first outing in the 2014 FIA-ERC will be in his existing 207 S2000 car in Rally Liepaja (Latvia); with the new car making its competition debut on the Acropolis Rally in Greece. His co-driver for the 2014 season is Scott Martin.