If you’re a nerdy car enthusiast who loves hot hatchbacks, there’s a good chance your brain specifically focuses in on the French variety. Citroën, Peugeot and Renault have all put out dozens of stupendous hot hatches over the years, ranging from tame, affordable models to mid-engine Group B specials.
One of the most revered of them all is the Peugeot 205 Rallye, and now a Peugeot dealership in Switzerland has come up with its own modern homage, a special edition based on the 208 hatch called the 208 Rallye.
The original 205 Rallye first debuted in 1988, a homologation special created by the Peugeot-Talbot Sport team for competition in the Group N and Group A rally series. It took the 205 XR’s 1.1-liter inline-4 engine, bored it out to 1,294 cc and fitted it with twin Weber carbs and a new crankshaft. Total output was 102 horsepower at 6,800 rpm, an increase of around 40 HP. The Rallye was also given the upgraded brakes, dampers and springs from the 205 GTI, and it was stripped of nearly all amenities to pare curb weight down to a scant 1,750 pounds.
At first every 205 Rallye came in white, with squarer fender flares, awesome Peugeot-Talbot–colored decals, sport seats, red carpets and seatbelts, and a rad set of 13-inch white steel wheels. Later model years saw the addition of other colors and some engine upgrades, depending on market, and over four years of production more than 30,000 were built.
The 205 Rallye was followed by Rallye versions of the 106 and 306, but the 205 has always reigned supreme. You don’t have to take it from me, either. Our industry colleague Andrew Frankel describes the 205 Rallye as the most fun front-wheel-drive car he’s ever driven, and the 205 Rallye beat the Porsche 911 R in a Chris Harris comparison test:
That brings us to the modern car, which I first saw thanks to a tweet from Jack Harrison at Autocar:
This new special edition was dreamt up by Garages Hotz SA, a dealership in Val-de-Travers, Switzerland. In addition to being inspired by the 205 Rallye, the modern 208 also acts as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Peugeot’s 205 Turbo 16 that dominated European rally.
In keeping with the spirit of the original 205 Rallye, the new 208 Rallye is based on a low-spec car, but sadly it doesn’t have any actual performance enhancements. Its 1.2-liter inline-3 engine puts out 100 horsepower and is mated to a six-speed manual. At least it’s pretty lightweight for a modern car, weighing in at under 2,700 pounds, and it should reach 60 mph in under 10 seconds.
I’m really just here for the styling, anyway. The 208 Rallye will only be offered in white, and Garages Hotz has painted the fender flares, darkened the light covers and given it stripes and decals that bring back the Peugeot-Talbot colors. Best of all, there’s a set of white 16-inch steelies that just look incredible. The interior gets a bit of new carbon-look trim and some red accents, but otherwise looks the same as the standard 208.
Garages Hotz will apparently only be selling 50 of the new 208 Rallye at a cost of around $28,000, a couple grand more than the equivalent standard 208. This special edition is the kind of thing the auto industry desperately needs more of, a playful design package that makes you really want a car – harking back to a beloved older model is just a bonus.
