Description
The King of the hot hatches. Volkswagen may have started the GTI craze in 1976, but many still consider the Peugeot 205 GTI as the greatest of them all. The 205 was launched in 1983, a brilliant rival to its contemporaries with its ‘wheel at each corner’ design and flyweight mass. No wonder it won What Cars ‘Car of the Year’ in 1984 and was declared ‘Car of the Decade’ by CAR Magazine in 1990.
The 205 1.6 GTI arrived in April 1984, singled out for its sublime handling and revvy 105bhp engine. The 205 T16 winning the World Rally Championship in 1985, helping to promote the road-going 205’s inherent abilities and ultimate potential. The GTI model was produced until 1994, firmly establishing itself as a must-have future classic and today, low-mileage, genuine examples are very rare, extremely hard to unearth and much sought-after.
This cracking little Peugeot was first registered on the second of January 1987. As such, this car is understood to be the earliest Right-Hand drive 1.9 GTi in existence, as confirmed by the Peugeot Sport Club. Amazingly it has had just one owner for the vast majority of its life; the first keeper sold the car to the current owner way back in 1990. After some time off the road, the 205 has recently been to marque specialists Pug Racing for a light mechanical re-commissioning and service.
