The 405 was supposed to take over the reins from Peugeot’s all-conquering 205 T16. The car was converted two a two-door for that purpose and development for its Group S race variant had started. Sadly, Group S never saw the light of day and WRC switched over to the safer, slower Group A. Luckily, the 405, along with its fellow Rally Monsters, found a new lease of life on an American mountain, the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb. Peugeot’s archrival Audi had won the last three events, utilizing its own Group B monster, when Peugeot turned up in 1988. Vatanen, a former WRC champion, beat the record set by Audi in a run immortalized by the award-winning movie Climb Dance. The record stood until 1993 and Peugeot also won the event the following year. The 405 also won the Dakar rally twice, with the Citroen ZX Rally-Raid based on the same platform adding another 4 victories. One can only wonder if the PSA could have dominated the WRC from the mid-80s all the way up to Sebastien Loeb’s retirement in 2012 had the Group S been kept alive.
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