The squad has bought two 208s developed and raced by Team Peugeot-Hansen for World RX in 2015, with which Timmy Hansen and Davy Jeanney claimed event wins for the outfit and also secured the Teams’ title.

Kevin Hansen also used the same specification of car to dominate the European Rallycross Championship last season.

No driver confirmations have been made in the announcement, but Motorsport.com expects the team’s current lead driver, Jean-Baptiste Dubourg to remain with the team.

“At the end of 2016, we had the opportunity to acquire two of the best cars in the discipline, and with the objective of growth for DA Racing, we could not miss this opportunity,” said team owner Dominique Dubourg.

“The arrival of two Peugeot 208 WRX Supercars in our premises allows us to prepare in the best conditions for our participation in the World Championship.

"It is very important for DA Racing to move up with the best assets at all levels. We have just started the first part with the acquisition of the two Peugeots, and will continue our approach by going into a phase of recruitment on all floors, for drivers, technical staff and management.”

DA Racing competes in rallycross and the Andros Trophy winter ice racing series (where it is reigning champion with Jean-Baptiste Dubourg) and ran an ice racing machine for Haas Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean to secure victory at the Alpe D’Huez round recently.

The squad has also tasted success in World RX. Racing an ex-Jeanney Citroen C4 in 2015, Dubourg finished on the podium at his home round at Loheac as part of selected appearances.

The car was replaced for 2016 with a brand new Citroen DS3, but technical troubles ruled the team out of challenging in a European Championship campaign.

“In 2016 we decided to build the DS3 for the European Championship and after a difficult start and hard work from the whole team, we recorded a very promising level of performance, which is encouraging for the future,” said Dominique Dubourg.

“The ambition of DA Racing is simple, we want to compete for first place in the different championships we are engaged in.”

The team is expected to also run the DS3 in 2017. Last season, Andrea Dubourg raced the car in French Rallycross Championship and won events, alongside appearances in a Super1600 category of the European series. An option for the squad could be that he gradates to Euro RX this year.