PEUGEOT 206 celebrates the 20th anniversary of its launch this year

PEUGEOT’s best-selling car of all time, the PEUGEOT 206, celebrates the 20th anniversary of its launch this year.

The original 206 was launched in the form of a hatchback in 1998 and had seen over 5.4 million global sales by December 2005. The car remains PEUGEOT’s best-selling vehicle to date with 5.1 million sold in Europe and 8.3 million globally.

In celebration of the landmark anniversary, PEUGEOT took on the challenge of recreating one of the most iconic 206 adverts – ‘The Sculptor’. The advert was originally filmed in Jaipur, India, in 2003 and depicted a young man converting his Ambassador into a 206 after seeing the car in a newspaper advert. The man makes the modifications by repeatedly crashing his Ambassador into a wall and encouraging an elephant to sit on it to make it resemble the PEUGEOT 206. To see the original 206 advert from 2003, visit: PEUGEOT 206 ‘The Sculptor’

In homage to this, the French carmaker converted a Hindustan Ambassador into the PEUGEOT 208 GTi, using a team of engineers at Ajeenkya D Y Patil University, based in Pune, India. Headed up by Ashish Nar, the team spent several months constructing the vehicle.

Mark Pickles, PEUGEOT Marketing Director, said: ‘It’s been 15 years since ‘The Sculptor’ advert appeared on TV screens and as PEUGEOT has recently acquired the Ambassador brand, it seemed a fitting way to mark the 206’s anniversary year. The outstanding work that the Ajeenkya D Y Patil University team has put into the vehicle modification has been incredible to watch.

‘The anniversary of the PEUGEOT 206 is a great opportunity to recognise the vehicle’s success in becoming PEUGEOT’s best-selling model of all time. On sale between 1998 and 2008, the 206’s reliable build and iconic design made it a popular choice of vehicle.

Ashish Nar, Head Designer at DYPDC School of Design of the Ajeenkya D Y Patil University, said: ‘It has been an exciting and very valuable opportunity working with PEUGEOT to create this concept vehicle. To see the original Hindustan Ambassador parked in the workshop and to then be a part of its transformation into a new, shiny PEUGEOT 208 GTi is extremely rewarding for all of the team, in particular the students who had the chance to be a part of this project.’

The PEUGEOT brand can trace its roots back to 1889 when it began producing automobiles and since then over 65 million vehicles have been produced, advancing technology with style and efficiency to enhance the customer experience. PEUGEOT is present in 160 countries, has 10,000 franchised Dealerships and is recognised the world over for the quality and design excellence of its products.