You Can Now Buy a Factory-Restored Peugeot 205 GTI
Fully restored vintage Peugeots—what’s not to love?
Aventure Peugeot has set up a new space within the workshop of the Musée de l’Aventure Peugeot in Sochaux, France. At the brand's famous museum, vintage models that have seen better days will now be fully restored and get a certificate of authenticity before being put up for sale soon after. Aventure Peugeot's first subject is a black, late-'80s 205 GTI with a battered exterior and a somewhat better-kept cabin. Featuring the bigger 1.9-liter engines, these early hot hatches produce 128 horsepower on a good day, all while weighing 1,929 pounds.
Peugeot was founded as a family company in 1810. Many coffee mills and bicycles later, founder Armand Peugeot built his first steam car in 1889, only to follow up with a Panhard-Daimler-engined combustion model a year later. The non-profit association l'Aventure Peugeot was founded by family heir Pierre Peugeot in 1982, who laid down the foundations for the preservation of Peugeot's industrial history. Since 2001, Aventure Peugeot also includes the Citroën Conservatory. Now chaired by Pierre's son Xavier, Aventure Peugeot grew once again to become Aventure Peugeot Citroën DS, incorporating both the Caapy and the Terre Blanche Archives while covering all aspects of the PSA Group.
Regardless of condition, 205 GTIs aren't getting any cheaper, and while an argument can be made for the rev-happy nature of the smaller 1.6-liter models, the faster and torquier 1.9s are just as sought after by both driving enthusiasts and collectors.
If you've been dreaming about owning one of these in the United States ever since Peugeot left in 1991, know that for the last seven years, Aventure Peugeot has been reorganizing its warehouse logistics to build up its vintage parts stock. The association will also be calling upon its traditional subcontractors to provide any missing components, pointing out that additive 3D manufacturing will always remain an option if the part can no longer be sourced. Starting with the 205 GTI in 2021 as part of the company's 210th-anniversary celebration, this new factory restoration program will soon include other French classics as well.
The 205 GTI was so popular that the only reason Peugeot didn't sell in the U.S. was its early departure after the 1991 model year. Keeping its hot hatch in production for a decade, Peugeot sold over 330,000 hardtop units, plus all the CTI cabriolets built partly by Pininfarina.
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