Peugeot 205 GTI sells for $53,000

You may have heard the owner of a Peugeot 205 GTI shout ‘sacre bleu!’ as the hammer dropped at £30,938 (AU$53,000) for this particular like-new example at a classic car auction held this week in Silverstone, north-west of London.

The silver 1989 Series II with 13,000km on the clock was described as “original and superb” right down to the crusty Pirelli P600 tyres that have seen 27 years of (admittedly light) service – this 205 has been moth-balled in a barn since 2004. It sold for £12,000 ($20,500) over the reserve price.

Although available in the UK with 1.6- or 1.9-litre four-cylinder engines, each with Bosch mechanical fuel injection, both this record-setting example and the previous price topper (a 1991 Series III red example from April that sold for £25,200) boasted the larger unit.

In Australia we received only the bigger engine in the iconic front-drive Peugeot hot hatchback, but due to catalytic converter restrictions it was detuned from 130bhp (97kW) to 75kW for our market.

Locally it sold for $29,500 plus on-road costs when it launched locally in 1989, five years following its global debut.

To coincide with the release of the Peugeot 208 GTi 30th Anniversary homage to the original, Peugeot Australia purchased a 205 GTI then set about restoring it. With 230,000km on the clock, the red hatchback (pictured) was stripped and resprayed, with plastics refurbished and steering wheel and alloy wheels reconditioned.

Even ‘period correct’ Michelin tyres were used for a vehicle set to be paraded around the country at dealership and other marketing events. The restored example took out the ‘Best 205 GTI’ gong among 12 models at the Peugeot Club of New South Wales’ All-French Car Day, where it made its public debut last month.

In the local classifieds, Peugeot 205 GTI models are currently asking between $4500 and $20,000 depending on age, condition and kilometre reading. Just call it a French Falcon GTHO…