VIN: the works Peugeot 205 T16 Evolution 2 chassis C205
HISTORY OF CHASSIS C205
Chassis C205 was one of the 20 T16s built to Evolution 2 trim for use by the works Peugeot Talbot Sport operation. It debuted as part of an all-new two-car entry for Evolution 2’s third competitive outing and round ten of the 1985 World Rally Championship: Rallye Sanremo. The Italian event took place over 650km of mixed gravel / tarmac special stages between September 29th an October 4th.
C205 was allocated to Bruno Saby and Jean-Francois Fauchille while C204 went to championship leaders Timo Salonen and Seppo Harjanne. The cars arrived with new separate suspension set-ups that could be switched between stages. They weighed 960kg and produced between 460bhp and 480bhp depending on boost. This rally also marked the arrival of power steering for the T16.
Having briefly led, a series of niggling engine problems for C205 saw Saby drop down the order before he eventually succumbed to a cylinder head problem on the penultimate day. Team-mate Salonen also experienced a troubled run but managed to bag second for Peugeot albeit six-and-a-half minutes behind Walter Rohrl’s new Audi Quattro Sport E2.
Peugeot skipped round eleven of the WRC (the Ivory Coast Rally) but returned for the ‘85 season finale: the RAC Rally held from November 24th to 28th over 880km of gravel and tarmac special stages. Following the debut of Audi’s E2 Quattro a few weeks prior, the RAC marked the arrival of an even more extreme Group B challenger: Lancia’s turbocharged and supercharged Delta S4.
Kalle Grundel and Peter Diekmann were allocated C205 while Salonen and Harjanne were out in their Sanremo entry (C204). Unfortunately, neither of the works Peugeots made it to the finish. Grundel crashed out on stage 20 and Salonen retired on stage 21 with no oil pressure.
Meanwhile, the new Lancias finished first and second with Henri Toivonen / Neil Wilson leading home Markku Alen / Ilkka Kivimaki in an ominous statement of intent for 1986.
Notable History
Peugeot Talbot Sport
Registered 709 EXC 75
29/09/1985 WRC Rallye Sanremo (B. Saby / J.F. Fauchille) DNF (#7)
24/11/1985 WRC RAC Rally (K. Grundel / T. Harryman) DNF (#12)
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Peugeot - http://www.peugeot.com
