Peugeot confident over 307

According to Nandan, the new machine follows a different philosophy from the 206 WRC, its ultra-successful predecessor, but is confident that the team will once again be able to challenge for the world title.

Talking about Peugeot's chances on the Monte, Nandan said: "However happy we may be with the way testing went over the winter, we are conscious that the 307 WRC is only at the beginning of its careers and nothing can replace actual competition.

"That doesn't mean we will be in Monte Carlo just to make up the numbers though; Peugeot has its sights set on the world title at the end of the year and our drivers will be out to give it everything they're got."

Nandan said that the design of the 307 WRC drew on the technological expertise built up after five seasons of running the 206, but that is was a completely new concept.

"The philosophy behind the two cars is effectively quite different and that has led us to take a completely fresh approach to the design of the majority of the 307 WRC's components. That doesn't mean that we started out from a clean sheet. The new car was the chance for us to pursue certain ideas further than we have been able to until now.

"At the same time, we were able to look at certain solutions that it wasn't possible to use on the 206 because of its small size. Globally, insomuch as accessibility to the mechanicals has been improved, the 307 will be simpler and more functional."