The Week In Deals
Supply, demand and sentiment are driving hot hatch prices to new highs
The Peugeot 205 GTI is leading the charge for hot hatch price records – if you take forced induction and Ford badges off the table.
British and French auction houses have vied for top 205 GTI hammer results for the best part of three years; low mileage Phase 1 1.9-litre cars have shown the strongest increases in value over this period, despite purists preferring the earlier 1.6-litre model and a Griffe special edition setting the absolute frontwheel drive 205 auction record.
Silverstone Auctions set the pace in 2016-2017, fi nding £30,938 and £38,480 for two 1989 1.9 GTIs with 7986 and 5726 miles on their respective odometers. Known by enthusiasts as ‘Phase 1.5s,’ these 1.9 GTIs featured a redesigned dashboard and a much improved gearbox, known as the BE3. Earlier cars are few and far between because of their fragile interiors and high mortality rate; the Nineties and Noughties saw many of these cars crashed, stolen or driven to death trackside. Enthusiasts pounce when a suitable car does appear; the 1.9 GTI record went back across the Channel on 9 November at Aguttes’ Epoqu’Auto sale in Lyon – an immaculate 1.9 Phase 1 from 1987 (the fi rst year of production) with 6731 km (4182 miles) on the clock set a new price record of ¤47,524 (£40,646 at time of writing).
Peugeot Sport UK’s Marketing and PR representative, Chris Hughes, said: ‘The price on this car was due to a combination of factors – being a nice, low mileage, early 1.9 – and being at a show where a number of the clubs plus the museum had some very special 205 GTIs on display meant that those with an itch had to scratch it and bid. I can see early 1.6 GTIs eventually achieving similar results.’
Those driving the prices are collectors who wanted 205 GTIs in their youth but couldn’t afford to buy or insure them at the time. For ( C’slsaissstiecr CtiatrleW)eekly
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Vollans, rising prices for 205 GTIs are indicative of a new generation that wants to leave its impression on the classic car market. He said: ‘Hot
hatches are so much more usable, desirable and fun than the traditional old sports cars that they effectively replaced.
‘As the children of the 1980s now fi nd themselves in their 30s and 40s with plenty of disposable income to bear, it’s interesting that the ever-upward surge of teenage dream machines from the previous generation, such as the Jaguar E-type, barely raise an eyebrow if they crack a record price, but a Peugeot doing the same seems earth-shattering.’
As further measures of their investment potential, Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars’ presenter, Drew Pritchard, is having an early 205 GTI 1.9 restored for his own personal use and a completely restored car was advertised for £50,000 at this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show.