Peugeot 205 T16

TIPPED BY: TRISTAN JUDGE

‘The interest in roadgoing Group B cars is booming and it’s totally understandable,’ says Tristan. ‘They were all built in seriously limited numbers, they all offer a bonkers driving experience and the generation that grew up in awe of Group B is now very much at the point where they’ve got money to spend.’

Tristan’s not the only one to fancy Group B icons, as we’ll discover in the next section up, and indeed the 205 T16 featured in our first Hot 30 back in 2014… but at the £75k to £100k bracket. The far-sighted Pierre Novikoff picked it then, since when more traditional blue-chip classics like Ferraris, Astons and Porsche have generally peaked and come down a bit. A changing of the guard?

‘There is that point about generational change,’ says Tristan, ‘but it’s also the difference between speculators going for something that’s purely an investment while others are fulfilling a dream they’ve had since they watched Juha Kankkunen winning the World Rally Championship in 1986. It’s an emotional decision.’

The 200 roadgoing Turbo 16s were all the same dark grey and all left-hand drive. They began as standard 205 bodyshells but were radically modified by Heuliez. The wide-track rally suspension, the 200bhp turbocharged 1.8-litre engine and the four-wheel drive system hung from tubular frames, front and rear.

Few of the roadgoing cars went rallying because Group B was banned at the end of the 1986 season and remains so, but sprints, hill climbs and rallycross claimed a few. Nowadays, utterly original low-miles cars with no competition outings are what the market wants, and what it’ll pay £180k to £220k for.