Summary

3-door Rally Prototype purchased in 1985 by GM to be studied by engineers. 108.3ci turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission. Odometer shows 15,914 kilometers. Sold on Bill of Sale.

Details

The Peugeot 205 was a supermini produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot. The 205's use of Macpherson struts at the front and torsion bars and trailing arms at the rear was a key ingredient of the car's success. The special Rally Race version dubbed 'T16' was a 205 two-door hatchback but in reality, it shared nothing with the mass-production 205 except the windscreen, doors and headlamps. The front half of the chassis, including the passenger cell, was a dedicated steel monocoque, while the rear half was a tubular steel spaceframe structure holding the transversely mounted engine, gearbox and rear suspension. All the mechanicals could be accessed by the unique hinging rear body section. A center differential split drive between the front and rear wheels, depending on conditions, from 25:75 to 45:55 front/rear. Double wishbones, anti-roll bars and coil-over-shocks made up the suspension and consequently required wider wheel arches. Powering the car was a mid-mounted all-alloy 16 valve engine with Bosch fuel injection, dry sump lubrication and an intercooled KKK turbo. All 200 T16s 'Road Cars' were built with left-hand drive. Back in the 1980's it was quite common for GM to purchase competitive-make vehicles for engineering analysis. Typically, two were purchased: one for deep-evaluation and even systems modification and another for original reference and on-road evaluation. This particular vehicle was considered to be one which was deeply evaluated as it became equipped with a revolutionary suspension system (GM named it: 'Active Suspension'), a special rally-style roll bar system, racing type seats with 5-point harnesses and possibly other modifications that may not be evident to the casual observer. The engine was heavily offset to the right, so that it and the gearbox could be located at either side of the longitudinal propeller shaft. To offset the weight of the engine, the battery and intercooler were mounted at the opposite side in the engine compartment. **SOLD ON BILL OF SALE**