A legendary mid-engined Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, created to compete with the Renault R5 Turbo, goes on sale in Italy

Many enthusiasts, fond of French cars or the history of motorsport, know that Renault had a fabulous model, called the R5 Turbo, created for rally homologation. That R5 Turbo, which could be sold to the general public, had a mid-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive, a completely modified passenger compartment and was simply a hatchback with incredible performance, on the engineering of which Renault spared nothing. Today, a Renault R5 Turbo , especially the first generation, costs as much as a Lamborghini, because they are rare and legendary. But far fewer of us know that Peugeot also created a model meant to compete with that Renault R5 Turbo.

It was called Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, and just as Renault was based on the regular R5, Peugeot was based on the regular 205. The car was prepared definitively by 1984 and was not shy to apply a recipe similar to that of Renault, but with an additional important ingredient.

Photo: Construction of Renault R5 Turbo

Thus, the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 had done the same thing with the engine, moving it from under the hood behind the front seats, in a mid position. The engine received a new cylinder head with 16 valves, hence the index 16 in the name, having a displacement of 1,775 cubic cm. It benefited from Bosch K-Jetronic electronic injection and also received a turbine, thanks to which it developed 200 hp and 255 Nm. The motorsport version of the same engine, by the way, develops over 400 hp.

Photo: The construction of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

On the outside, the car was much closer to a standard 205 GTi and did not stand out as much as a Renault R5 Turbo. The Peugeot also had wider springs and if you knew where to look, you could see the difference, but still the chances were higher that the car would be taken as an ordinary hatchback and surprise only when it unleashed its power.

And that additional important ingredient, which I was talking about above, is the all-wheel drive. If the Renault R5 had started to be designed at the end of the 70s, in the meantime Audi had appeared in rallies, with quattro drive, and there was no point in designing a new car for rally without putting all-wheel drive on it. So Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 received a 4x4 system, which was coupled with a gearbox taken from the Citroen SM.

The car was manufactured in only 200 units sold to public, plus about 20 competition ones. It is curious that their manufacture took place at the Talbot factory, which belonged to the Peugeot group at that time. Naturally, production was largely manual, with body cuts, welds and suspension replacements and modified parts.

Although it was a model created with an eye on the Renault R5 Turbo, Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 managed to achieve better results in motorsport racing, even taking the constructors' grand title in 1985 and 1986. So that ingredient in the form of all-wheel drive made a big difference.

Photo: Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in a rally in 1985-1986

Well, and with all this fabulous consistency in the history of the model, an example of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 has now been put up for sale in Italy, in absolutely authentic condition and impeccably kept.

The car has only about 11,200 miles (18,000 km) accumulated on board, which is quite natural for such a rally car. Therefore, it is an absolute gem, very likely one of the best preserved to date of the 200 copies manufactured.

The price is not communicated except in advanced private discussions, but it is certainly one commensurate with the glory that this model has inscribed in history.