Peugeot 205 GTI (1989) – In the wild

You will hardly find colleague Joas van Wingerden as enthusiastic about anything as he is about Peugeot’s 205. In the almost ten years that the undersigned has known him, the 205 regularly clatters out of his mouth as part of an enthusiastic chatter. Recently his ‘Peutje’ has been rated at a modest 1.1 pepperpotslippers of a 205 1.6 GTI, so we can easily imagine the complicated combination of jealousy and admiration that becomes part of him when seeing these photos of a real 205 GTI.

Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 (1989)

Of course, the 205 T16 is the version of the 205 that made the small French success number an international superstar through its performance during the Group B rallies, but ordinary mortals would not come any closer to such a fierce rally cannon than with a 205 GTI. The 205 GTI debuted in the mid-1980s with a 105 hp 1.6. Shortly after the arrival of the 105 hp and 115 Nm strong versions, the GTI range was expanded with the 1.6 with the 205 1.9 GTI. That feat of the series-built 205 had a less spicy character than the version with 1.6, but did generate more power: initially 130 hp and later 122 hp due to the arrival of a catalytic converter. The 130 hp that this copy has helps the 860 kilo cub from a standstill to a speed of 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds and to a top speed of 208 km/h. The 105 hp 205 GTI with 1.6 – which was sold alongside the GTI with 1.9 – was clearly less spry with a 0-100 time of 9.5 seconds.

The copy photographed by yours truly looks particularly fresh. The license plate holder of the 205 GTI Club confirms that it is in the possession of an enthusiast and the history of this example also indicates this. It was built almost exactly 34 years ago and crossed the Dutch border for the first time in 1996. The French automotive bomb has been in the possession of its current owner since the end of 1997 and, given the condition of the car, he seems to take very good care of it.