1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

FISA's introduction of Group B regulations for the World Rally Championship in 1982 required only 200 road cars for homologation and an almost limitless number of modifications permitted. This would revolutionize the series and would lead to the development of some of the most exciting rally cars the world had ever seen. Peugeot's first Group B contender was the 205 Turbo 16, and it was based on the new 205 hatchback, although only a few body panels were interchangeable. The 1.8-liter turbocharged engine was placed where the rear seat passengers would have been and given an up-rated running gear and permanent four-wheel drive system. The Turbo 16's maiden victory was in 1984 at the 1,000 Lakes, piloted by Ari Vatanen, the first of a record-breaking five consecutive World Championship victories. His teammate, Timo Salonen, became World Champion at the end of 1985, securing Peugeot the Makes Championship. During the 1986 season (Group B's last), Juha Kankkunen secured the Driver's Championship and Peugeot's second consecutive Makes title. In total, it achieved 16 Group B rally wins and two championships, surpassing the legendary Audi Quattro (13 wins, one championship).

In short, Peugeot Talbot Sport's 205 T16s were the most successful of the Group B rally cars, fighting off strong competition from Audi, Lancia, and Ford to win the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986.

Peugeot 205 Hatchback
Group B regulations required the race cars to be based on a current production road car, and for Peugeot, they selected the two-door version of the 205. Peugeot would build a staggering 5.3 million examples of the diminutive 205 hatchback during its 15-year production run and is credited with revitalizing the ailing manufacturer's fortunes and helping spearhead the emergence of the hot hatch segment. In competition guise, it would win no fewer than 16 rounds of the World Rally Championship, making it one of the greatest road-going homologation specials to ever come out of France.

Bodywork
French carrosserie Heuliez was tasked with creating the bodywork from standard three-door bodyshells. They removed the rear section of the car and welded in a transverse firewall between the B-posts, and the rear frame was created from a mixture of sheet steel profiles and tubes. At the front, similar modifications were employed with a tube frame carrying the front suspension. Simca (Talbot) received the bodies for the production cars, and Peugeot Talbot Sport received the competition versions.

Engine
The transversely-mounted engine had mechanical fuel injection compressed by a turbocharger running at approximately 1.5 BAR, a 16-valve head, a bore of 83mm and stroke of 82 mm (3.27 inch x 3.23 inch), and 6.5:1 compression. It displaced 1,775cc and produced as much as 400 horsepower at 8,000 RPM. Peugeot factory stats quoted max torque was 332 lb.ft at 5,000 rpm. The road-going homologation cars produced approximately 197 bhp at 6,750 RPM from their 1,775cc DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder engine. The turbocharger was a KKK unit and fuel was fed via a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system ('T' in T16 represented turbocharger, and 16 was for its DOHC 16 valves).

The mid-engine placement was selected for better weight distribution and traction. Originally, they intended to mount the engine longitudinally but there was a lack of space. Additionally, that configuration would have made it nearly impossible to service the belts and pulleys. To promote a low center of gravity, the gearbox was bolted behind the engine rather than below it (in the usual transverse engine setup). This also helped balance the weight of the engine which was fitted behind the passenger seat on the right side of the car.

Chassis numbers
The homologation cars (Vin number P1 to P200) were all left-hand drive and wore a dark grey color. This was done to make the build process as easy as possible, with all the road cars built to the same specification, color, and configuration. The only exception was the first car (Vin P1) which was painted white and wore the competition cars' decoration for demonstration purposes. The competition cars of the first evolution series received VIN numbers C1 to C20. The Evolution 2 Series was C201 to C220.

The Evolution 1 series was built at the sport department Peugeot Talbot Sport. The Evolution 2 series did not have the sheet steel profiles in its rear spaceframe; instead, it was composed entirely of tubes.

When it came time to homologate the 205 T16, Peugeot lined up every single one of the cars on a massive expanse of tarmac so that the FIA inspectors could see for themselves that all the cars truly existed. Homologation was duly granted on April 1st.

Similarities
The homologation road car and the rally car shared a similar appearance, four-wheel drive configuration, and the 1,775cc transversely-mounted, mid-engine powerplant. Although the same displacement, the road car produced less than half the power as its racing sibling. The outward appearance was similar, although the T16 had wider wheel arches, and the entire rear section lifted up to allow access to the engine.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023