Guide: Peugeot 205 T16 Evolution 1
Background
Peugeot produced the 205 T16 with the sole intention of delivering Manufacturer honours in the World Rally Championship. At the time, rallying was even more popular than Formula 1; huge crowds were drawn to watch spectacular machinery piloted by some of the world’s best drivers.
The arrival of Group B regulations in 1982 spawned a new generation of limited production models designed exclusively for competition. Previously, entry to Group 4 (the premier rally class) had required a production run of 400 identical road cars within a 24 month period. In an attempt to stimulate participation, Group B halved those figures to 200 units in twelve months. It inadvertently led to a raft of extreme new purpose-built vehicles arriving on the special stages.
Given the firm’s prosaic back catalogue and rather dull image, Peugeot’s board were convinced that success in the exciting world of rallying with a car that resembled the forthcoming 205 GTi hot hatch could help reinvigorate the brand.
A whole new department was bankrolled at vast expense. What emerged was Peugeot Talbot Sport, a crack works team led by Jean Todt from state-of-the-art new headquarters in Bois de Boulogne near Paris.
Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS) was where the works T16s were built, developed and maintained while production of the 200 road cars required for homologation took place at the Poissy factory 30 kilometres away.
In addition to very low production requirements, Group B permitted manufacturers to develop more extreme Evolution variants for competition use. Evolution cars had to be built in batches of 20; the first batch could be produced as soon as the initial 200 road cars had been homologated. Thereafter, one additional batch of 20 Evolutions was permitted every twelve months.
It was the T16 Evolution 1 that PTS took into battle. The standard T16 was homologated into Group B on April 1st 1984 by which time PTS already had 20 Evolution 1s assembled and ready for competition.
For the rest of the 1984 season, the T16 would most notably go head-to-head with Lancia’s 037 Evolution and the Audi Quattro A2 and Quattro Sport.
Chassis
Each T16 Evolution 1 was built around an uprated version of the standard car’s central steel monocoque. It was reinforced, seam-welded and equipped with a hefty aluminium roll cage.
The heavy-duty suspension had multiple pick up points to accommodate gravel and tarmac configurations.
Brakes were enhanced; the original 273mm discs grew to 300mm diameter and the single piston calipers were switched to AP Racing four-pot items.
The 15-inch Speedline wheels were given a subtle redesign and always shod with Michelin tyres.
Engine & Gearbox
Peugeot’s Evolution motor was based upon the same all alloy water-cooled inline four cylinder engine as used by the standard T16. Displacement was unchanged at 1775cc as was the mechanical Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection.
However, the Evolution motor had a host of competition upgrades.
It was fully dry-sumped and ran a higher 7.0:1 compression (up from 6.5). Reinforced pistons with heavy-duty sleeves were installed along with 30 degree intake valves, 50 degree exhaust valves and Champion BN 60 spark plugs. The same KKK K26 twin scroll turbocharger with air-to-air intercooler was retained but boost pressure was hiked from 0.7 bar to a maximum of 1.5 bar.
A new ‘Dispositif Pre-rotation Variable’ anti-lag system (DPV) similar to the type used on Renault’s Formula 1 engines was fitted. PTS also installed a free-flow exhaust system and second radiator fan to improve cooling.
When running the turbo at 1.5 bar, peak output rose to 350bhp at 8000rpm. By comparison, the 200 cars built for homologation produced 197bhp at 6750rpm. There was also considerably more torque on offer: 332lb-ft at 5000rpm for the Evolution compared to 188lb-ft at 4000rpm for the standard T16.
Transmission was via a five-speed ‘box with shortened gearing, a ventilated twin-plate clutch and ZF limited-slip differential.
Bodywork / Interior
Quickly detachable lightweight body panels were fabricated from a mix of Kevlar and carbonfibre. All glass bar the windscreen was switched to plastic. PTS also stripped out the interior;
Weight / Performance
T16 Evolution 1s tipped the scales at between 940kg and 980kg whereas the standard T16 weighed 1145kg. Weight distribution was also now more even; 45/55 front-to-rear compared to 47/53 on the road car.
Depending on gear ratios, 0-62mph could be achieved in under three seconds while a top speed of around 140mph was possible.
Production
As per the Group B production requirements, 20 Evolution-spec. T16s were originally built. They bore chassis numbers C1 to C20. One additional car was later rebuilt and renumbered M1.
1984 Season
Homologation was approved on April 1st 1984 by which time three of the twelve WRC rounds had already taken place. As they were therefore out of the running for championship honours in 1984 PTS chose to skip the remaining events held outside Europe to concentrate on development. This would ensure the car was ready for a fully fledged title assault in 1985.
Ari Vatanen was signed as lead driver along with navigator, Terry Harryman. The second entry went to Jean-Pierre Nicolas who was making a return to the sport after four years out. Nicolas was co-driven by Charley Pasquier.
1984 Tour de Corse
The T16 made its highly anticipated debut at the Tour de Corse on May 3rd 1984. This was a tarmac event around the isle of Corsica and round five of the World Rally Championship. Two brand new cars with a conservative 330bhp were taken to the event; one for Vatanen / Harryman and the other for Nicolas / Pasquier.
After Vatanen had led the opening two days, a dream start for the T16 was on the cards. However, at 5am on day three, the Finn aquaplaned off the road at 80mph, rolled his car several times and plunged 50 yards into some boulders. The crash ruptured the fuel lines and the car was quickly consumed by fire although Vatanen and Harryman were able to escape uninjured.
Nicolas brought the sister car home in fourth behind the Lancia 037s of Markku Alen and Miki Biasion. Jean Ragnotti was third in a Renault 5 Turbo.
1984 Acropolis Rally
The next event for Peugeot came three weeks later at the 1984 Acropolis Rally with its dusty, rough and rocky roads. Another pair of brand new T16s were on hand for what would be the model’s first taste of gravel. Variations made from the tarmac spec. included sound-proofing panels in the roof, better interior ventilation, ride height raised by 8cm and extra wishbone protection. There were also bigger fuel tanks, smaller brake discs, thicker sump guards plus Kevlar reinforcements around the wheelarches and rear clam. All told, these upgrades added around 60kg.
Once again Vatanen led but was forced to retire after his car threw its second oil pump drive belt and expired. Nicolas then made it a double DNF; a wheel hub had broken after a succession of smaller incidents that started with a rock damaging his brake disc.
Stig Blomqvist won for Audi followed by the sister car of Hannu Mikkola. Markku Alen’s Lancia was third.
1984 1000 Lakes Rally
After the Acropolis, the rest of the field flew out to New Zealand and then on to Argentina. PTS stayed in Europe to test; first in Germany and then in Finland ahead of the 1000 Lakes Rally which started August 24th.
Just one car was entered for this fast gravel event; Vatanen / Harryman used the same chassis that Nicolas / Pasquier had campaigned on the Acropolis. Several upgrades had been made since the Greek round to include a new lightweight navigator’s seat, plastic headlights, extra underside protection and polyurethane protection for the front wishbones. Weight was 940kg.
A fourth place finish by Blomqvist was enough for Audi to wrap up the Manufacturer’s Championship but the German firm and Lancia must have been alarmed with the ease at which Peugeot outpaced them. Having demonstrated considerable potential by leading in Italy and Greece, Vatanen’s T16 won 29 of the 51 stages and finished two minutes ahead of Alen’s second placed Lancia. Third spot went to Henri Toivonen in another works 037.
1984 Sanremo Rally
Next up was Rally Sanremo which started on September 30th. Lancia’s home event near the French Mediterranean border comprised a mixture of tarmac and gravel. Two brand new T16s were on hand. They had shed a further 20kg, been given an improved air supply to the rear brakes and were fitted with new BBS wheels for the tarmac stages.
After their 1000 Lakes victory, Vatanen / Harryman were in fine form and spent four days demonstrating the complete superiority of the T16. They set new records almost everywhere en route to a well deserved victory. The only hiccup was a spin after a flash flood caused them to aquaplane on a stage that never should have gone ahead.
Nicolas / Pasquier were fifth (behind a trio of 037s) but the event was marred by a number of spectator injuries including one that saw a cameraman tossed over Nicolas’s T16 during a night stage.
1984 RAC Rally
After two wins on the bounce, PTS skipped the Ivory Coast Rally to test in Kenya. They returned for the championship finale in late November. Just one T16 was entered for the RAC Rally (another mix of gravel and tarmac). Vatanen / Harryman used their Sanremo winning chassis.
Configured to much the same specification as on the 1000 Lakes and Sanremo gravel sections, the T16 once again dominated despite a number of mishaps. These included a fire extinguisher going off in the cockpit, the bonnet detaching itself (recovered) and a gentle roll that saw the car end up on its roof. Luckily, the roll occurred in soft scenery and spectators enthusiastically righted the car.
In another demonstration of the T16’s superiority, Vatanen was able to calmly regain the lead he’d handed to Mikkola’s Audi.
A third consecutive win for Vatanen / Harryman saw them finish 40 seconds ahead of Mikkola with Per Eklund third for Toyota.
1984 Season Points Standings
The season ended with Audi as Manufacturer’s champions on 120 points. Lancia placed second with 108 and Peugeot were third on 74. In the Driver’s standings, Audi’s Stig Blomqvist was champion on 125 points and his team-mate, Hannu Mikkola, was second on 104. Lancia’s Markku Alen finished third with 90 points.
1985 Season
Having admitted in Sanremo that he felt too old for the latest generation of rally cars, it was no surprise that Jean-Pierre Nicolas retired at the end of 1984. PTS announced Timo Salonen and Bruno Saby would join Ari Vatanen as drivers for 1985.
Peugeot would contest ten of the twelve 1985 WRC rounds with between two and three cars at each event. While all twelve rallies counted towards the Driver’s Championship, only eleven applied to the Manufacturer’s contest.
With a stellar new driver line up plus the T16’s impressive form during the latter part of 1984, Peugeot went into the new season as hot favourites to secure both the Manufacturer and Driver titles. However, new models from other manufacturers would be coming thick and fast. To counter, Peugeot expected the T16 Evolution 2 to be on stream mid-season.
1985 Monte Carlo Rally
The 1985 World Rally Championship kicked off in Monte Carlo on January 26th. Peugeot arrived with a trio of T16s, all of which were in tarmac trim and weighed around 960kg.
Ari Vatanen and Terry Harryman led from the start, but their four-minute lead was reversed by an eight-minute penalty after they arrived at parc ferme too early. With 394km of stage time remaining, Audi’s Walter Rohrl had a massive 4 minute 41 second advantage. However, this was sensationally overturned by Vatanen before the Rohrl lost time with electrical problems. The final gap to Vatanen / Harryman was over five minutes.
Peugeot also secured third (Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne) and fifth (Bruno Saby / Jean-Francois Fauchille).
Unfortunately, the Monte had not been without its controversies. Once again, lax crowd control and astonishingly fast cars meant driver and spectator injuries were becoming frequent. In light of this, the FIA announced the Evolution rule would be scrapped at the end of 1985; Group B had already evolved too far.
1985 Swedish Rally
A pair of T16s were then entered for the Swedish Rally which kicked off on February 15th. The cars for Vatanen and Salonen ran increased ride height with new inner wings designed to reduce the accumulation of snow in the wheelarches. Michelin also had a new TRX tyre compound specially for the fast snowy conditions.
Despite trips into the snow banks for both PTS entries, Vatanen dominated proceedings. He won over half the timed stages and eventually finished nearly two minutes ahead of Stig Blomqvist’s Audi. Salonen took third to give Peugeot a healthy lead in both the Driver and Manufacturer standings.
1985 Rally Portugal
By the time Rally Portugal began on March 6th, Peugeot had completed a dozen of the required 20 Evolution 2s in anticipation of their approval for use from the beginning of April. Meanwhile, Sanremo-spec. Evolution 1s were entered in Portugal for Vatanen and Salonen. A thicker front skid plate installation was the only upgrade of note.
During the event, Vatanen’s rear wheel came detached 7km into stage four and, though he tried to persevere on three wheels, the engine soon stopped when a flywheel sensor ordered the electronics to shut down. This brought an end to the Finn’s run of five successive WRC victories.
His countryman, Salonen, also suffered with a driveshaft failure while lying second but was able to nurse his car to the end of stage and get a repair. Leader Rohrl then experienced a cracked differential housing on his Audi and passed the lead to Salonen who went on to take his first win for Peugeot. Salonen finished nearly five minutes ahead of second-placed Miki Biasion in a Jolly Club Lancia 037.
1985 Safari Rally
PTS mounted a major attack on the 5200km Safari Rally in early April. A trio of specially prepared cars with a host of heavy-duty upgrades were entered for Vatanen, Salonen and Saby.
Strengthened bodyshells were equipped with thicker titanium-reinforced underbody protection and beefed-up suspension. An 80-litre fuel tank was installed up front in addition to the normal 110-litre unit located under the passenger compartment. Front bull bars and spot lights gave an authentic expedition appearance along with an extra roof-mounted spare wheel. Another spare was stored in the engine bubble. The 340bhp engines ran larger radiators and a more efficient air filter system. With all this extra equipment weight rose to 1030kg.
Despite having thrown everything at it, the 1985 Safari was a chastening experience for Peugeot. Lancia and Audi also suffered as the ‘ultra’ Group B cars lost out to the tougher and more conventional Toyota Celica TCTs that finished first and second.
All three T16s endured turbo problems and overheating dampers. Saby crashed out and Vatanen eventually retired with a blown head gasket after a troubled run. Only the Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne entry made it to the finish. They placed seventh overall but were nearly four hours behind Juha Kankunnen’s winning Celica.
1985 Tour de Corse
Despite the fruitless trip to Africa, PTS still had cause for optimism as, back in Europe, the new T16 Evolution 2 had successfully undergone an intensive development programme with Bernard Darniche. Homologation was granted in time for Peugeot’s home rally on May 2nd: the Tour de Corse.
Just one Evolution 2 was entered for crowd favourite and tarmac specialist, Bruno Saby. Vatanen and Salonen stuck with their proven Evolution 1s. However, all three cars ran new 15-inch wheels (instead of the metric TRX sizes) plus the improved Evo 2 brakes.
Neither Evo 1 had a trouble-free event.
Day one saw Salonen retire after an electrical failure took longer than the allotted time to fix. Vatanen then lost 23 minutes with a double puncture before he crashed out and wrecked the car on day two.
Instead, it was Jean Ragnotti that led from start to finish in his Renault 5 Maxi Turbo while compatriot, Saby, took second in the T16 Evolution 2. As thrilled as the partisan crowd must have felt with two natives finishing first and second in two French cars, the event was overshadowed by the death of popular Lancia driver, Attilio Bettega. Bettega crashed fatally on the fourth stage. His co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot, survived uninjured. Lancia withdrew their remaining cars as a mark of respect.
After the Tour de Corse PTS went back to using the T16 Evolution 1 for the next three rallies (Greece, New Zealand and Argentina). Development on the Evo 2 continued while supplies of the Evo 1 were used up - these works cars typically only contested between one and three rallies before they were retired.
1985 Acropolis Rally
For the Acropolis Rally at the end of May, PTS entered a pair of Evo 1s for Vatanen and Salonen. They were set up as in Portugal, albeit with a little extra front ground clearance.
Having earlier won five consecutive events in the T16, Vatanen’s rotten luck since Sweden continued as he retired on the second stage. This time, broken suspension had smashed the oil reservoir.
By contrast, Salonen led from start to finish; a first in the events history. He beat Audi’s Stig Blomqvist by over four minutes as mechanical problems with the Sport Quattro hampered the Swede’s efforts.
1985 Rally New Zealand
Despite having won seven of the eleven WRC events they had contested with the T16, the next event, Rally New Zealand, marked the first one-two finish for PTS. Running cars in Acropolis trim, but with one-inch lower ride height plus thinner and lighter sump guards, Salonen / Harjanne took the win by one minute 17 seconds from Vatanen / Harryman. Rohrl placed third for Audi.
After New Zealand Salonen led the Driver standings with 68 points. Blomqvist was second on 60, Vatanen was third on 55 and Rohrl was fourth on 36.
1985 Rally Argentina
Rally Argentina was expected to be the last event for the works Evo 1s. Peugeot took three cars to South America; one for Salonen, one for Vatanen and a third for Carlos Reutemann who was making his first competitive appearance since he abandoned Formula 1 in early 1982. The T16s were in Portugal spec. with as much ground clearance as possible.
Meanwhile, Audi used the event to debut their wild new Quattro Sport Evolution 2.
Perhaps mindful of the points gap to his team-mate, Vatanen was really pushing on the second stage when he hit a mudhole at 120mph and launched his car into a series of violent rolls. Described at the time as the most serious survivable crash ever seen, Vatanen sustained major injuries and, although he went on to compete for Peugeot in the Paris-Dakar and at Pikes Peak, he never completed another full WRC campaign. Terry Harryman miraculously escaped relatively unscathed but was still out for several months.
After Vatanen had retired, the solitary Evo 2 Quattro followed on stage eight which left the Lancia-free event to Salonen who won by 14 minutes from the Quattro A2 of Wiedner / Zehetner. Reutemann drove steadily to third and was only hampered by a two minute stop for a sodden plug lead after splashing over-enthusiastically through the many water crossings to thrill the spectators.
Retirement
With an almost unassailable lead in both the Driver and Manufacturer standings the T16 Evolution 1 bowed out from works involvement in the WRC.
Using the Evo 2, Salonen was subsequently victorious at home on the 1000 Lakes Rally and second in Sanremo. He had secured the Driver’s championship before posting a DNF on the RAC Rally. Kalle Grundel was drafted in from the Peugeot Talbot Deutschland squad to replace the injured Vatanen but only managed a fifth in Finland and a DNF on the RAC. Saby drove on the Sanremo but failed to finish.
1985 / 1986 Semi-Works T16 Evolution 1s
In addition to their own works cars, Peugeot Talbot Sport also supplied a quintet of T16 Evolution 1s to trusted satellite operations for 1985. The Peugeot importers for Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK each ran a factory-supported programme in works PTS colours. A fifth car went to Bernard Darniche who had been involved with T16 development.
PTS Deutschland Evolution 1
Undoubtedly the most successful of these Evo 1s during the 1985 and 1986 seasons was chassis C13. It ran under the Peugeot Talbot Sport Deutschland banner but was uniquely prepared at the PTS headquarters in France.
Piloted by Kalle Grundel and navigator Peter Diekmann, C13 (registered SB-K 205) won 90% of the rallies it contested in 1985. This made Grundel and Diekmann the obvious candidates to deputise for Ari Vatanen and Terry Harryman after their massive accident at Rally Argentina in 1985.
Grundel took the offer of a works RS200 drive from Ford for 1986 so was replaced in C13 that season by Michele Mouton who was co-driven by a now recovered Harryman. Together, Mouton and Harryman continued C13’s winning ways with another half dozen victories at national and European level.
PTS Espana Evolution 1
Chassis C14 went to Peugeot Talbot Sport Espana and was prepared by Jacques Almeras from his base in southern France. Initially driven by Antonio Zanini, this car (registered 25 TC 34) had a spectacular debut crash on the Rally Costa Brava where it somersaulted down the road after hitting a bank.
Four weeks later, C14 had been repaired and Zanini placed sixth on the Rally Costa Blanca before doing one more event after which he was replaced by Bruno Saby.
In his two outings, Saby most notably scored a victory on the Rally Girona-Guilleries. For 1986, C14 was sold to Swiss privateer, Freddy Oguey, who finished every rally he started and won the Rallye de Court outright.
PTS Italia Evolution 1
In Italy, the Peugeot Talbot Sport Italia chassis (C15) was prepared in the rally department of Enzo Osella’s engineering outfit under the watchful eye of Mariolino Cavagnero. Registered MI 64170X and used exclusively throughout 1985 by Giovanni del Zoppo and Elisabetta Tognana, C15 finished second on its Rally 1000 Miglia debut and won the Rally Citta di Sassari mid-season.
However, it otherwise struggled with reliability. C15 was retained for the 1986 season when Andrea Zanussi / Paolo Amati took over driver and navigational duties. This new pair finished on the podium in four out of five rallies contested and won the Rally di Limone Piemonte.
After his impressive form, Zanussi drove a works T16 Evo 2 on the 1986 Sanremo Rally (where the entire team were wrongly excluded). He also went on to become a key part of the PTS Pikes Peak and Grand Raid programme in 1987.
PTS UK Evolution 1
The fourth T16 Evo 1 sent out for a domestic programme was chassis C20. Its destination was Peugeot Talbot Sport UK run by Des O’Dell who had masterminded the victorious 1981 World Rally Championship for Talbot (which was part of the Chrysler Europe assets purchased by PSA Group in 1979).
Registered B555 SRW, chassis C20 was driven exclusively by Mikael Sundstrom throughout the 1985 and 1986 seasons. Navigated by Paul White for the first year, the best result (and only finish from four events) was third on the Ulster Rally.
Navigational duties were transferred to Voitto Silander for 1986 when victories on the Scottish and Lurgan Park rallies were achieved.
Bernard Darniche Evolution 1
After he helped PTS develop the T16 Evo 1 and Evo 2, Bernard Darniche was able to acquire an Evo 1 in time for the 1985 Tour de Corse. Regaled in a stunning blue Gauloises Blondes livery, chassis M1 was a rebuilt ex-works car numbered out of sequence with the other Evo 1s.
Prepared for Darniche by Fred Stadler, M1 ran at the Tour de Corse, Ypres 24 Hour Rally (in white and red Bastos livery) and finally at the Tour Auto de la Reunion (back to blue Gauloises trim). It failed to finish on all three occasions. Nevertheless, in its stunning blue colour scheme with contrasting white wheels, this was perhaps the most handsome T16 of all.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Peugeot - http://www.peugeot.com
