What the car is and where it came from
The 205 Turbo 16, called the 205 T16 and “Turbo 16” in France, is the Group B rally car Peugeot built from its 205 supermini. The Evolution 2 is the later series of the competition cars. To homologate the car, Peugeot had to produce 200 road-going examples, which under Group B rules had to be based on a current production road car. Peugeot chose the two-door version of the 205.
Heuliez built the bodies, taking standard three-door shells from the production line and heavily modifying them. The completed bodies went to Simca (Talbot) for the 200 road cars and to Peugeot Talbot Sport for the competition cars.
How it works, in terms someone would actually use
The engine is a 1,775 cc turbocharged unit with a specially developed 16-valve head, on the cast-iron block of the diesel version of the XU engine family. It was moved from the front of the car to the rear, which turned a front-engine, front-wheel-drive hatchback into a rear-mid-engine, four-wheel-drive car. The gearbox came from the Citroën SM and was mounted transversely.
The “T” stands for turbo, a KKK unit, and the “16” for the sixteen valves. Heuliez cut off the whole rear of each shell and welded in a transverse firewall between the B-posts. The rear frame was a mixture of sheet steel profiles and tubes, and the front carried its suspension on a tube frame. The whole rear section lifts up to reach the engine.
What it gets right
It turned a front-engine, front-wheel-drive hatchback into a rear-mid-engine, four-wheel-drive car. Factory T16s under Jean Todt were the most successful cars in the last two years of the Group B era of the World Rally Championship. They won the 1985 and 1986 Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles, with Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen respectively as the drivers, against competition from Audi, Lancia and Ford.
What it does not
Outwardly it looks like a normal 205, but the T16 has wider wheel arches, and underneath it has practically nothing in common with the regular production model. The road cars were all left-hand drive, and all but the first were finished in the same dark grey. The first, VIN P1, was painted white and carried the competition decoration for demonstration. The road versions made around 200 PS, less than half the power of the rally car.
What it changed
The first evolution series of competition cars (VINs C1 to C20) was built by Peugeot Talbot Sport. For the later Evolution 2 series (VINs C201 to C220), the rear spaceframe no longer used sheet steel profiles and was composed entirely of tubes. The Evolution 2 was introduced for the 1986 season, the second of the two title years. The chassis and engine would later underpin the Peugeot Quasar concept car.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It is for readers who want to know how a Group B car was made from a production hatchback, and how a homologation rule shaped a road car that existed to qualify the rally car. It is not for anyone who wants a usable 205, since the road T16 shares almost nothing with one.
Is it worth your time
Yes, if you follow rallying or care how homologation rules produced cars like this.
