VIN: the works Peugeot 205 T16 Evolution 1 chassis C9
History of chassis C9
Held on nearly 5200km of gruelling gravel tracks, the Safari Rally (round four of the 1985 World Championship) was possibly the toughest motor sport event of the year.
Peugeot headed to Africa with high hopes of victory; their 205 T16s had already won in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Portugal.
The French squad took a trio of specially prepared heavy-duty cars for Ari Vatanen, Timo Salonen and Bruno Saby.
Chassis C9 was a brand new example allocated to championship leader Vatanen.
To withstand the test that lay ahead, these Safari-spec. 205s used strengthened bodyshells 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 were added along with a roof-mounted spare wheel plus another stored in the engine bubble. The 340bhp engines ran larger radiators and a more efficient air filter system. As a result of all this extra equipment, weight rose to 1030kg.
Once underway, Vatanen stayed with the lead group for much of the event.
However, just after the halt at Mount Kilimanjaro he broke a shock absorber. A fuse in the petrol pump then failed which meant he ran out of fuel. The Finn struggled to a pump to buy a few litres only to run out again. Half an hour was lost.
Vatanen later had to call the helicopter to deal with a stone that had wrecked a caliper which dropped him from third to fifth. Soon afterwards, he retired when the radiator started to leak and his head gasket blew.
Bruno Saby crashed out which meant Timo Salonen / Seppo Harjanne were the only works Peugeot entrants to finish. They placed seventh overall but were nearly four hours behind Juha Kankunnen’s winning Toyota Celica.
Peugeot’s run of six back-to-back WRC victories between 1984 and 1985 had come to an abrupt end.
After this solitary outing, chassis C9 was retired from active duty.
Notable History
Peugeot Talbot Sport
Registered 704 EXC 75
04/04/1985 WRC Safari Rally (A. Vatanen / T. Harryman) DNF (#7)
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Peugeot - http://www.peugeot.com
