GTI

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Peugeot 205

The Peugeot 205 was a supermini car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1983 to 1998.

It was declared 'Car of the Decade' by CAR Magazine in 1990. It also won What Car?'s Car of the Year for 1983

History

The styling of the 205 is often thought to be a Pininfarina design, however Gerard Welter claims it as an in-house design; Pininfarina only styled the Cabriolet. It is often credited as the car which turned Peugeot's fortunes around. Before the 205, Peugeot was considered the most conservative of France's "big three" car manufacturers, producing large saloons such as the 504 and 505. The genesis of the 205 lay within Peugeot's takeover in 1978 of Chrysler's European divisions Simca and the former Rootes Group, which had the necessary expertise in making small cars including the Simca 1100 and Hillman Imp.

Early 205s used the X engine (commonly nicknamed the Douvrin "Suitcase Engine") from the older Peugeot 104, although these were later (1987-1988) replaced with the newer XU and TU-series engines, which were of PSA design. Engines ranged from 954 cc to 1905 cc engine displacement, in carburettor or fuel injected petrol and diesel versions. Its use of the now standard PSA Peugeot Citroën suspension layout of MacPherson struts at the front, with torsion bar suspension rear suspension, that debuted in the Peugeot 305 estate, was a key ingredient of the success of the 205. This is fully independent using torsion bars (Torsion spring) and trailing arms. It is very compact and was designed to minimise suspension intrusion into the boot, giving a wide flat loadspace, while providing excellent ride and handling.