The Peugeot 205 Rallye

In this article we will talk about the 205 Rallye from Peugeot, made from 1987 to 1992. This car was the cheap option to do the things you couldn’t do unless you were hired by Peugeot Talbot Sport or just had a lot of money laying around to buy one of the 200 made Peugeot Turbo 16.

The 1980’s was, without doubt, the golden era for hot hatches. Perfect for young people; reliable, affordable and fun to drive. It gave us exquisite cars such as the Golf GTI MkI, the Renault 5GT Turbo, the Ford Fiesta XR2, the Peugeot 205 and all it’s (many) variants, and plenty more.

Ford Fiesta XR2 Mk2

But, what makes the 205 Rallye more special than the rest of its brothers?

Well, It’s right to say that the 205 Gti delivered great driving characteristics and a very responsive throttle (afer all, it was a very revvy engine). It had a XU 5J block, which delivered 113 bhp to the front wheels, and very luxurious equipment for the time.

The styling was nothing short of 80s, very boxy dials, very boxy dash, very boxy everything, plus those red stripes around the whole car. It costed around £12,300 at launch.

Now, if we want to talk about specs and numbers…

We'll be comparing the Rallye to the 1.6 Gti

Now, the Rallye isn’t about displacement or power, it’s about the experience.Peugeot wanted to make a an affordable car to race in promotional rally cups (£8,600 at launch).

You see, when you take a 205 Gti, and make it 120kg lighter, it’s a completely different car. It had the same TU24 block as the Citroen AX Sport, which gave it a little over 90bhp, but Peugeot got it to 103 bhp thanks to the two Weber 40 DCOM carburetors used in the engine.

It was less fragile than the Gti, making it perfect for its name, it also had a smaller gearbox ratio, front ventilated brake discs, and stiffer suspension, thus making it perfect for back road shenanigans. Oh and, did I forgot to mention that it was £3700 cheaper?, yes, £3700 cheaper!

The styling was improved (in my opinion) from Gti, it looked way more like a rally car. Getting rid of that plastic back cover, getting Peugeot Talbot Sport stripes on the grill, super light wheels and those wheel arches. The seats were lighter and had the Talbot Sport logo etched into them.

Peugeot got rid of all the acoustic insulation and any luxury or unnecessary equipment in the car, so basically, you’re buying a Gti with weight reduction… for cheaper (and they wanted you to rally with it), isn’t this the best deal ever?

For a quick moment now, imagine yourself driving the Rallye, hammering down your favorite road, you feel every vibration there is to feel, the steering wheel is so responsive you can feel the wheels pattern, you hear the small 1.3 screaming at 7000 rpm as you heel and toe before a corner. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

The Rallye is one of the many examples of driving experience. Sure, you can get a really normal car, automatic, very comfy seats with heaters and cameras, not have to engage in the drive just because you don’t care about the drive, you care about getting to your destination, but being honest, do you really want to?