1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 1 of 200 Manufactured...

Description

1984 PEUGEOT 205 TURBO 16
--Grey Metallic with Dark/Light Grey leather/alcantara interior with Red accent, Charcoal carpeting edge Red, 5-speed manual, 48,000 Original Kilometers/29,000 Original Miles, 1 of only 200 manufactured, Original concours quality condition, Collector owned and cared for.
The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 is the street version of the iconic Turbo 16 Group B rally-race car. Peugeot was in the process of shifting production towards smaller and sportier vehicles. Therefore, with the introduction of the new Group B rally rules of 1982, Peugeot with the help of French rally expert and race driver Jean Todt and an unlimited budget developed the 205 Turbo 16 (the big brother to the production 205 GTI) as a marketing tool, well known in the world of racing at this point in time and thus "win on Sunday – sell on Monday". As opposed to its front engine 4-wheel drive competition the Audi Sport Quattro, the 205 Turbo 16 would be mid-engined as well as 4-wheel drive for better weight distribution and traction. For marketing purposes, it was paramount to keep most of the 205's exterior body features as similar as possible to its production variant. The 205 Turbo 16 turned out to be the most successful Group B rally car with 16 outright rally wins and two championships, even surpassing the legendary Audi Quattro’s 13 wins and only one championship.
To enter the rally cars into Group B, Peugeot had to build 200 homologation units. Already under time pressure, Peugeot elected to make all the road cars exactly the same color and specification and all were manufactured in left-hand drive form. In March of 1984, when the time came for the 205 T16 to be homologated, Peugeot decided to line up every single one of the cars built on a massive expanse of tarmac so that the FIA inspectors could see for themselves that all the cars truly existed. Homologation was duly granted on April 1st and thus the T16 made its World Rally Championship debut in Corsica on the 3rd of May. The rest, as they say, is history.
This 205 Turbo 16 is the 189th example of the just 200 homologation cars built. It was delivered to a Mr. Quernette in Lasne, Belgium on September 15, 1985. With prices in the range of new Porsches and Ferraris, only the most dedicated fans would pay up for the Turbo 16 at the time. Mr. Quenette is believed to have used the car on weekend trips and in his almost 30-years of ownership the car covered only 45,000 kilometers.
The Peugeot was imported to the USA only a few years ago by its French-American collector. It has been used only occasionally, but has been kept in good company, in his collection of modern rally/supercars. With only to most minor signs of wear, this T16 will be as comfortable on the concours lawn as it is on the road. It is offered with its books, tools, jack and spare tire. An icon of the 1980’s Group B rally world, it is one of the most sought after Group B homologation cars and which rarely come to market, never mind in this examples current condition. This is without a doubt one of the finest of its kind in the world.