The world of hot hatches has an incomparable charm. These small cars with a fun design and driving marked an era that, fortunately, despite all the changes and trends of the modern automotive industry, they have managed to spread using current technologies; hence modern versions of some of these hatchbacks are truly impressive. One of those historic hot hatches is the Peugeot 205 GTI, the French representative of the segment in those years.
Of course it did not lack for fans, especially on that side of the pond, and restoration specialists rightly began to revive them. An example of it is this 205 GTI 1986, restored and modified by the British from Tolman Engineeringwho with the premise of returning visual glory to him accompanied by a performance that not even in his best dream would he have had a few decades ago.
Peugeot 205 GTI 1986: Engine restoration
These projects have to start with a total disassembly of the model in question, so in Tolman they took advantage of “the trip” to remove the old 1.9-liter four-cylinder engine, They took it to the bank, disarmed it and began to use it thoroughly:
- They installed a new valve cover.
- Changed camshaft for a high performance one
- They replaced the exhaust with a high flow one
- They restored and optimized the 5-speed gearbox
- They worked on a new configuration for the ECU
The initial result gave 203 Hp on the dyno, not bad for an engine that originally made just 130 Hp. She achieved 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 225 km/h; I think the guys at Tolman Engineering know a thing or two on the subject.
Peugeot 205 GTI 1986: handling and cockpit
With new performance of the engine, in Tolman they took on the task of improving the frame of the car in order to improve the handling sensation and make it more stable in curves:
- Bilstein shock absorbers
- rear stabilizer bar
- Adjustable arms and forks
Tolman had the luxury of optionally offering a self-locking differential signed by Quaife, as well as AP Racing calipers and stainless steel brake lines.
Peugeot 205 GTI 1986: Exterior
When everything was ready, not one more cable or hose had to be installed, the final assembly of all the parts of the bodywork and passenger compartment came, which, obviously, were also worked on. In this section, the client decided to keep the original style and design of the silhouette, so before painting, Tolman only applied an anti-corrosion compound that guarantees many years of extra life to all panels. The interior received a small dose of technology, enough to entertain yourself and keep abreast of what happens under the hood of the Peugeot 205 GTI
- LED headlights
- Motec LCD Instruments
- Bluetooth connectivity
Tolman Engineering claims that this type of restomods requires about 700 hours of workso I suppose that once the level seen in this Peugeot 205 GTI is reached, it can justify 63,500 euros that it costs, what do you think?
What hatchback model would you dare to restore?
