Vehicle Description
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**
