1984 PEUGEOT 205 T16 RALLY PROTOTYPE

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. It was fully independent and very compact. It was designed to minimize suspension intrusion into the vehicle's body, providing a wide flat load space, while delivering excellent ride and handling qualities. Around 1985, GM Engineers became quite interested in studying the 205 T16.

Its transverse, turbocharged mid-engine, Ferguson-sourced all-wheel-drive (w/ 3 differentials) and unique suspension presented quite a performance and handling package. The knowledge gained from evaluating this vehicle might be quite useful in the development of future products. Hence, as was often the case, competitive make vehicles would be procured for analysis. In this instance, two T16's were purchased with this one remaining 'unmolested', still representing its original build design. To help boost the 205's image, Peugeot entered modified, specially-tuned T-16's into (and won) numerous high-profile Road Rally events between 1985 and 1988. To homologate the 205 T16 ('Turbo 16' in France) Group B rally car, Peugeot had to produce at least 200 road-going examples. The road variants shared the transverse mid-engine, four-wheel drive layout of the rally car, but had less than half the power; at around 197 hp. The T was for Turbo; the 16 stands for 16 valves, an uncommon feature at that time for turbocharged engines. Outwardly similar to a normal 205, the T16 had wider wheel arches, and the whole rear section lifted up to give access to the engine. Underneath, the complex drivetrain from the rally car was kept to abide by the Group B rules. All 200 built were left-hand drive. This particular car is deemed to be one of the specially-built 'Road Cars'. This car was manufactured by Peugeot in street-use configuration and has not been modified to race spec. **SOLD ON BILL OF SALE**