Peugeot 205 GTI, celebrating 30 years of history

Owners lucky enough to keep one of these iconic cars are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Peugeot 205 this year.

The national gathering of the Club 205 brought together more than 60 units for the event, including different series and models of the car, including the 205 GTI. They had the opportunity to visit the facilities in Villaverde, Madrid, where the 205 GTI was manufactured. The assembly of the other 205 models also took place there.

In addition to touring the museum, they were able to drive their cars around the test track the brand has at those facilities. More events will be held in the coming months to continue commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 205.

In Spain, 1,931,237 units of the Peugeot 205 were manufactured, counting all its versions. As for the GTI model, its first version was a 1.6 with 105 CV. In 1986 it went up to 115 CV with the same engine block, and finally the 1.9 with 130 CV arrived, which gave the car enough vigour to offer much more racing-like performance on the road compared with the earlier engines it had fitted.

Exterior dimensions of 3.7 metres long, 1.57 wide and 1.35 high, together with a weight that did not reach 900 kilos, allowed it to reach and exceed a top speed of 200 km/h and a 0 to 100 acceleration in 9.0 seconds (depending on the engine version fitted), so pushing the engine up to the top of the rev counter was no problem, and that is where it performed best, although it also responded well at low revs.

One of its main virtues was its agility when linking bends, quick and precise. This made it one of the preferred cars for driving on roads where straights were scarce.

The GTI version of the Peugeot 205, was characterised by red tones visible on the bodywork in the form of trim and badges, and inside, the doors and upholstery also featured trim in that colour. The steering wheel was a specific three-spoke design with the GTI insert in the centre, confirming that it was a special, sporty car.

Besides its special series and the rest of the range on sale, the 205 was named Car of the Year in Spain in 1985. This was a sign of the triumph and warm reception the little city car had enjoyed.

The Peugeot 205 GTI has not only been, and still is, present on the streets in everyday use, where it was a huge sales success; it has also played a part in motorsport history through the competitions it entered. It dominated the World Rally Championship in the 80s with the 205 Turbo 16, homologated to race in the category known as Group B.

Although it only competed for three seasons, that was enough to achieve 16 victories and four championships, two for manufacturers and two for drivers (Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen). With the ban on Group B, they turned their efforts to the Dakar Rally project.

In 1987 (Ari Vatanen) and 1988 (Juha Kankkunen) they won the Dakar. They also won in 1989 and 1990 with Ari Vatanen, but this time with a version of the 205 T16 called the 405 Turbo 16. This model was used in the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb.

The brand has wanted to revive the spirit of the 205 GTI in another model, the 208 GTI. Adapted to today’s world, they want it to be a radical sports car with better performance than the standard version, but with rational behaviour that lets us use it in a versatile way.

The sensations, together with comfortable driving, multiply the driving experience, or at least that is what they aim for in Peugeot with the engine block that delivers 200 CV of power.

The Peugeot 208 GTI, the revival of the legend, is available from €22,900.

Source | Peugeot