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Group B: Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

Posted by Rory

Homologated under the legendary and ill-fated Group B classification, Peugeot [allegedly] produced 200 neutered road-going versions of this MR layout hyper-hatchback. Featuring a turbocharged 1.7 litre inline 4-cyl engine with 4 valves per cylinder, 4 driven wheels, and a dynamic epicyclic drivetrain, this sophisticated vehicle ran away with the 1985 & 1986 FIA WRC drivers & constructors championship.

It was the last car to truly dominate in Group B before the class’s demise in the 1987 season. Its distinctive lines and vivid liveries were an instant classic, with my personal preference leaning towards the huge spoiler & bold Camel sponsored Paris-Dakar/Rally Raid motif.

The takeaway video above documents the Talbot team’s championship winning 1985 season [albiet in French]. Their team principal, Jean Todt, went on to direct Ferrari’s Formula 1 team and now oversees the FIA.

12 Comments Leave A Comment

1

daniel the dallas plebe says:

July 17, 2012 at 7:21 am

I used to play this car in Gran Turismo 2 all the time, so awesome!

2

patrick says:

July 17, 2012 at 10:31 am

Ballsy…both the drivers and the spectators. Amazing skill to drive the cars at that speed with that control on those conditions. Truly amazing.

4

Reilly says:

July 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm

350 HP in a 2000 lbs car….never a bad thing. The thing I always loved about the 205 (as opposed to the Audis, which I still love) was that it was a completely purpose built car, made for the rules and without any shred of connection to the road cars. Some people hate that, I hate them for thinking that. Always, always in racing you need to push for the opportunity. BTW the later T16 evolution was called “E2” and featured the top-rear mounted wing and more of the front downforce elements (I believe some of the photos here, the ones toward the bottom, are indicative of the E2), I think it was 86-87 ish. Great post.

9

Rory says:

July 19, 2012 at 8:04 am

Yes i’ve seen Climb Dance, it was an award winning film. I was going to do a post about pikes peak and feature this video, maybe not now.

10

Patrick says:

July 26, 2012 at 5:09 pm

@saintz

Cant stop watching the pikes peak video…great follow up. This is awesome.