PEUGEOT 205
A few upgrades can make this already great-handling car genuinely eye-widening
The 205 was a massive success for Peugeot and it’s not hard to see why. It still looks fresh more than 30 years after it made its debut, and came with an array of petrol and diesel engines that are interchangeable with those fitted to all sorts of other models from the Citroën and Peugeot range. As a result, it’s easy to mix and match, with brake, suspension and powertrain/drivetrain mods often no more complicated than unbolting the 205 parts and slotting in those from another PSA Group car.
205 GTIs may be getting increasingly collectible, but prices still generally remain realistic, notable, record-breaking auction results aside. A lot of GTI fans prefer their cars to be as original as possible, but there’s also no shortage of people who want something with more performance, better suspension and stronger brakes. As a result, the usual rules apply: modifying your 205 – especially if it’s a GTI – makes the most sense if your starting point is an average car or a project. Heavily modify a mint car and you’ll probably regret it.
‘Heavily modify a mint car, and you’ll probably regret it’
One of the most popular upgrades is an engine swap, largely because there are so many decent used units available that will slot straight in. A 306 GTi-6 engine and transmission is a common transplant, giving 167bhp without any tuning – along with a six-speed gearbox.
If the focus is on performance the start point is usually one of the GTIs – either the 1.6 or 1.9. You don’t have to swap engines of course; there are turbocharger or supercharger options instead, but these are a costly way of achieving not much more power. When Turbo Technics tuned these cars in period it boosted the 1.6-litre engine to 160bhp and the 1.9 to 175bhp, but a 306 GTi engine is still a better bet.
The 306 engine swap is so popular that some specialists will do the job for you. Pug1Off’s Matt Jobling says: ‘For £2540 we’ll fit a 2.0-litre 167bhp engine with a new clutch, cam belt and water pump, plus a set of silicon hoses, and for an extra £1680 we can offer a Stage 2 unit rated at 195bhp. For £385 you get a six-speed gearbox, for £760 we’ll fit a a Quaife torque-biasing diff, while a shorter ratio final drive costs £980-1175, depending on whether it’s a five-speed or six-speed ’box. The standard six-speed ratio is 3.95:1 but we can also fit 4.4, 4.75, 5.23 or 5.67:1, although the latter two are really for sprinting.’