Guide: Peugeot 205 T16 'Pikes Peak'
Background
After several months of rally accidents, things came to a head with a grim burst of fatalities in the spring of 1986. As a result, the FIA announced Group B cars would be banned from the beginning of 1987.
The decision came suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly. It followed the deaths of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto on the ‘86 Tour de Corse.
In the weeks prior, four spectators had been killed and 32 injured at Rally Portugal.
In a short space of time, Group B cars had become little more than Prototype racers with F1 rivalling power outputs. To exacerbate the problem, the enormous crowds that flocked to see these spectacular machines were often difficult to control.
The ban was ultimately the correct decision as things would almost certainly have got even further out of hand.
Unfortunately, Peugeot had invested as much as anyone in Group B; as well as the T16 programme, they had created the Peugeot Talbot Sport facility outside Paris that was staffed with around 100 employees.
The decision to outlaw Group B was made just as Peugeot would have been permitted to run an Evolution 3 variant of the 205 T16. However, the FIA prohibited the introduction of any further Evolution models for the remainder of the 1986 season.
Peugeot Talbot Sport boss, Jean Todt, was furious.
At the end of 1986, Peugeot quit the World Rally Championship in protest. The firm would play no meaningful part during the subsequent Group A era.
Meanwhile, Todt was left with how best to utilise the expensive T16 platform going forward.
For 1987, he decided to run a trio of Grand Raid T16s at the Paris-Dakar Rally (January 1st to 22nd) and three super lightweight specials at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb (July 11th).
Freed from the oversight of FIA regulations, both the Pikes Peak and Grand Raid T16s shared a new long wheelbase platform.
Backing for Peugeot’s 1987 activities was secured from Shell fuels and Camel tobacco. To reflect this, the cars ran a new yellow colour scheme.
At the time, Pikes Peak was regarded as arguably the world’s greatest hillclimb. It comprised a 12.42 mile course with 156 bends of smooth gravel. The track began at an elevation of 9402 feet and ultimately rose to 14,110 feet at the finish.
Participation by European crews began in earnest in 1984 when a factory Audi squad turned up with a works Quattro Sport for Michele Mouton and Fabrizia Pons. That year, they won the Open Rally category.
Mouton / Pons returned in 1985 and, on this occasion, secured outright victory with a new course record.
Pikes Peak specialist Bobby Unser was recruited by Audi for 1986. Unser broke Mouton’s record from the previous year driving an S1 Quattro.
Chassis
From a technical perspective, the Pikes Peak T16 incorporated a mix of the obsolete Evolution 3 upgrades and some of those that had tentatively been proposed for an even more extreme Group S iteration.
As there was no minimum weight limit specified by the regulations, these cars were stripped of every conceivable piece of unnecessary trim. Extensive use of Kevlar, titanium and magnesium further kept weight down.
As per the machines raced on the ‘87 Paris-Dakar back in January, the Pikes Peak T16s ran a long wheelbase version of the Evo 2 platform. This itself comprised a seam-welded pressed steel monocoque with a tubular spaceframe rear end and fully integrated roll cage.
The slightly longer wheelbase was brought in to improve high speed stability and make the handling more predictable. To this end, track was widened all around.
At Pikes Peak, 300mm diameter brake discs were used along with four piston magnesium alloy calipers.
Wheels were taller and wider than on the Evo 2.
As the three cars would only have to cover a little over twelve miles to complete the Pikes Peak course, dramatically smaller fuel tanks were fitted.
Engine / Gearbox
For the WRC, the FIA implemented a 1.4 multiplier for turbocharged engines. The T16 had originally run engines of 1775cc to qualify for the under 2500cc class.
With no such rules at Pikes Peak, Peugeot fitted a long stroke 1905cc engine. As per the original, an 83mm bore diameter was employed. Stroke was stretched from 82mm to 88mm.
The compression ratio was kept at the same 7.0:1 used by all T16 Evolutions.
New equipment included a variable geometry Garrett T31 turbocharger, an air-to-water intercooler, water injectors for the front radiators, Marrelli Solex fuel-injection and Thomson ignition.
Owing to the less than ten-minute event duration, the rear mounted oil coolers and their associated ductwork were deleted.
Peugeot officially downplayed the car’s power output as 550bhp at 7600rpm. However, when running the full 3 bar of turbo pressure, more like 650bhp was available.
The torque rating was quoted as 362lb-ft at 5500rpm.
The four-wheel drive transmission incorporated the latest six-speed gearbox as introduced for the Evo 2 mid way through 1986.
Bodywork
To increase downforce and cover the wider front wheels, PTS fitted extended wheelarches with an integrated canard. There was also a deep front spoiler that worked in conjunction with the ground effect skirts that had initially been outlawed from the WRC.
The rear spoiler was imported direct from the Evo 2.
Plastic side windows were fixed in place and left un-ventilated to avoid disrupting the airflow.
Other modifications included a single windscreen wiper and single door mirror.
Interior
Inside, the Pikes Peak cars were stripped of every conceivable piece of superfluous equipment.
The regular dashboard and associated stage rally equipment was all removed. Instead, behind the three-spoke steering wheel was a tiny metal panel that housed two gauges and half a dozen flick switches.
The passenger seat, rear view mirror, spare wheel, tools and radio equipment were also deleted.
Weight / Performance
The lightest Evolution 2s had been trimmed down to 910kg. By comparison, the Pikes Peak cars tipped the scales at just 850kg.
With circa 650bhp on tap at full boost, acceleration figures were formidable, even on loose gravel. On tarmac, the Pikes Peak entries would most likely have hit 0-62mph in about 3 seconds. Top speed was probably around 130mph.
1987 Pikes Peak Hillclimb
Peugeot announced they had applied for three Pikes Peak entries in the middle of April 1987. A trio of cars would be entered for the July 11th event with one apiece for Ari Vatanen, Andrea Zanussi and Shekhar Mehta, all of whom had contested the Paris-Dakar for Peugeot earlier in the year.
At the beginning of June, Audi confirmed they had entered an 800bhp Sport Quattro S1 for Walter Rohrl. Peugeot would also be up against Ford RS200s driven by Malcolm Wilson and Dan Ripley. Rod Millen’s four-wheel drive Mazda RX-7 would similarly be in contention for outright victory.
The event began with a week-long practice session where the hill was split into three sections. This meant the drivers would only get to experience the full course on race day.
Compared to Audi, Peugeot struggled to find enough downforce and many changes were made during the build up.
PTS added massive new spoilers with supplementary lips and endplates. To improve airflow, plastic panels were stuck over the headlights and holes were cut into the front panel.
Nevertheless, as the cars line up on race day, Audi and Walter Rohrl looked set for a comfortable victory.
First up the hill for Peugeot was Shekhar Mehta co-driven by his wife, Yvonne. They initially went fastest, only to be eclipsed by Andrea Zanussi who set a new course record en route to the summit.
Zanussi sliced 15.17 seconds off Bobby Unser’s 1986 time.
Next to run was Walter Rohrl.
Incredibly, the German went 8.2 seconds faster than Zanussi to head the field.
Vatanen was the last runner in the class. However, at around one third distance, a turbo pipe clip broke which dropped boost pressure from 3 to 2 bar. The Finn ended up 6.98 seconds slower than Rohrl who took Audi’s third outright win in as many years.
Vatanen placed second, Zanussi was third and Mehta took fourth.
Peugeot would be back for 1988 with an improved 405 T16.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Peugeot - http://www.peugeot.com
