Description
Sonoma Classic Motorcars and our new world wide brokerage Riviera MotorSports located in the Marina de Cascais Portugal is proud to present the restored 1985 Peugeot 205 T16 Group B Rally car. The image in the advert is for representation purpose only. Images, Championship race history and supporting documents will be provided upon request.
In the early eighties rallying had a much different pace than it does today. A new category called Group B was created in 1983. It was intended for manufacturer’s to show of their engineering talents with little restrictions on design. Most of these cars saw 500 or more horsepower which was far faster than modern day WRC cars. The main requirement of Group B was 200 homologated road-going examples. Tweaked evolution versions only required twenty cars. This made Group B cars increase performance and speed at a rapid pace. Soon wings would be needed to keep the cars on the track.
First on the scene was Audi which introduced four-wheel-drive to the rally scene with the Quattro. Audi dominated the Group B scene from early on. The Quatro was joined by other Group B cars such as the Lancia 037. It was not until 1984, that the Audi and similar front-engined cars would face a new challenge. Peugeot. The 1984 Tour de Course saw the debut of the Peugeot 205 T16. This new design practically rendered the Audi and similar designs obsolete. It was a small lightweight car that focused on a mid-engined design.
Under the direction of Jean Todt, the Peugeot 205 T16 became the new king of the hill. After a successful introductory season, Peugeot took the 1985 and 1986 Manufacturers’ title. Among the competition was the Lancia Delta S4, Ford RS200, Austin-Metro 6R4 and the Audi Quatro S1.
Group B racing came to an end in 1986 with an unfortunate accident involving an Delta S4. Sadly, Lancia lead driver, Henri Toivonen and his co-driver, Sergio Cresto, were killed in a high-speed accident while racing. Group B was instally cancelled for the 1987 season. After Group Bs cancellation, Peugeot used much of their experience developing the 205 T16 for the Paris-Dakar Rally.
1985 Peugeot 205 T16 Info
XU8T, I-4, DOHC 16v, gas
E1: 340~350 HP @ 8000 rpm
Please contact Marvin for images, race history and supporting documents.
