Peugeot 205 History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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Launched on 25 February 1983, the Peugeot 205 was a design and commercial triumph that reversed Peugeot's declining fortunes through the 1980s. Light, agile, and sharply styled in-house, it was voted Car of the Year by What Car? in 1984 and declared 'car of the decade' by CAR Magazine in 1990.
The 205 GTI, introduced in 1984 with a fuel-injected 1.6-litre engine (and in 1986 with a 128-hp 1.9), established the template for the modern hot hatch and is still revered by enthusiasts as a near-perfect driver's car. A Pininfarina-styled convertible (CTi) rounded out the body-style lineup. European production ran until around 1998 (sources vary; some cite 1999) — roughly a 16-year run — by which time more than 5.2 million had been sold worldwide.
Body styles
- Hatchback
- Cabriolet
Notable special editions & performance variants
205 GTI 1.6
The original hot hatch GTI — fuel-injected 105 hp (later 115 hp), featherweight at around 830 kg; the car that defined the genre.
205 GTI 1.9
The ultimate 205 GTI — 128 hp 1.9-litre engine, disc brakes all round; widely considered the apex of the 205 performance range.
205 T16
A mid-engined, all-wheel-drive Group B homologation special built to win rally championships — which it did, taking back-to-back World Rally titles in 1985 and 1986.
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