Peugeot 205 Rallye | Spotted

That’s a shame, because these cars are all absolutely great to drive in their own right – but as they become so much more valuable, the fear of using them as intended will inevitably creep in. An E30 track car made sense when they cost £20,000 (or less); a very different prospect when they are five times as many. So how about this as the ultimate palette cleanser? A Peugeot 205 Rallye, the left-hand drive, explicitly designed for Group N competitions, as light as choux pastry and perhaps the rawest of all Peugeot’s stripped-down specials. Which says something.

The asking price is also £12,000, or less than most GTIs you see for sale these days. Much less so than anything else with a tangible motorsport history. Left-hand drive might make it slightly less useful in Britain than a GTI (or the RHD Rallye that was on offer), but no-one tends to complain about that when it comes to M3s or Integrales. And to be honest, if you’re having trouble seeing out of a 205 or parking, the problem isn’t really with the car.

Far from being a cynical motorsport cash-in, the Rallye was unapologetically focused. Like the 106 Rallye that followed (a car very similar in ethos and performance), this 205 had to be as fast as a 1.3-litre, naturally aspirated Peugeot could be. So it weighed less than 800 kg, orbited the moon and had to constantly shift gears. The twin-carb 1.3-litre TU’s stroke was just 69mm, with peak power of 105bhp at 6,800rpm; 88lb ft was made at 5,000rpm, which are probably figures never recorded on PH before. To take advantage of this, a shorter final drive was fitted, allowing the Rallye to continue where it was happiest, but that also meant that at 75mph in fifth place, 4,500rpm was required. Do you want hardcore? You got it.

The roar of that engine would have made for an unforgettable experience; with a chassis that borrowed many elements from the 1.6 GTI, driving a Rallye was quite manic – a true junior rally car for the road. That’s what did it for most of them: cars were converted for full competition or crashed. The hood pins on these are said to be for light pods, which were never fitted, before you say anything. And while there isn’t much history of its early life in Europe, this particular Rallye has been used and enjoyed in Britain for a decade now. Just a few hundred miles and three years ago the 205 had spent more than £4,500 bringing it back to its best.

It still needs extensive TLC, being a 37-year-old French car designed to ride all over the door handles, but the incredible lightness and simplicity that makes it so fun to drive should also help with handling. It is hardly the case that a Rallye, for example, has to brake hard. While this won’t be a classic with modern sensibilities, something you can use very regularly, those urges, when they happen, will feel so special.

Will the Rallye appreciate it as much as the other left-hand drive homologation cars? Probably not now, as I’m approaching forty; it is known and appreciated by too few people. The GTI will be the one for most people to have as a driving device and collectible. So good news for those who just want to throw around in the ultimate lightweight pocket rocket…

Engine: 1,294cc, four-cylinder
Transfer: Five-speed manual transmission, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 103 at 6,800 rpm
Torque (lb⋅ft): 89 at 5,000 rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1989
Registered mileage: 39,601 (declared)
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £12,495