VIN: Peugeot 205 T16 Evolution 1 chassis C19
History of chassis C19
Of the 20 T16 Evolution 1s built, chassis C19 was one of 16 retained for works use. The other four were allocated to Peugeot’s German, Spanish, Italian and UK distributor teams.
In addition to C19, two other works T16s wore the registration number 123 FBL 75: chassis C6 on the 1985 Monte Carlo Rally and chassis C8 on the 1985 Safari.
With an abundance of cars at their disposal, the works team (Peugeot Talbot Sport) rarely used any given chassis more than a couple of times.
C19 was called up for duty twice: at the New Zealand and Argentine rallies of 1985. On both occasions it was driven by Ari Vatanen and navigated by Terry Harryman.
Peugeot went to New Zealand with the enviable record of seven victories from eleven WRC events. This rally would, however, mark the first one-two finish for the team.
The T16s arrived in gravel spec. similar to that used on the Acropolis albeit with the ride height dropped by an inch plus thinner and lighter sump guards.
In a largely trouble-free event for Peugeot, Timo Salonen and Seppo Harjanne took the win and finished one minute 17 seconds ahead of Vatanen / Harryman in second.
The team left New Zealand with Salonen leading the Driver standings on 68 points. Audi’s Stig Blomqvist was second on 60 and Vatanen was third on 55.
Rally Argentina was expected to be the last event before Peugeot switched full-time to the Evolution 2. Three cars were taken to South America: one for Salonen, another for Vatanen and a third for local hero Carlos Reutemann who was making his first competitive appearance since abandoning Formula 1 in early 1982.
This time the T16s were in Rally Portugal spec. with as much ground clearance as possible.
Audi notably used the event to debut their wild Quattro Sport Evolution 2.
Perhaps mindful of the points gap to his team-mate, Vatanen was pushing C19 hard on the second stage when he hit a mudhole at 120mph and launched the 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 chassis C19 was wrecked and never saw active duty again.
Notable History
Peugeot Talbot Sport
Registered 123 FBL 75
29/06/1985 WRC New Zealand Rally (A. Vatanen / T. Harryman) 2nd oa, 2nd Gr.B class (#2)
30/07/1985 WRC Rally Argentina (A. Vatanen / T. Harryman) DNF (#4)
Wrecked in Vatanen’s Rally Argentina crash
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Peugeot - http://www.peugeot.com
