1988 Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 - 5,726 miles

The King of the hot hatches? Volkswagen may have started the GTI craze in 1976, but many still consider the Peugeot 205 GTI as the greatest of them all. The 205 was launched in 1983, a brilliant rival to its contemporaries with its "wheel at each corner' design and flyweight mass. No wonder it won What Cars "Car of the Year' in 1984 and was declared "Car of the Decade' by CAR Magazine in 1990. The 205 1.6 GTI arrived in April 1984, singled out for its sublime handling and revvy 105bhp engine. The 1.9 GTI that followed in December 1986 was more of the same but with 128bhp and a bit more torque. This was all amidst the 205 T16 winning the World Rally Championship in 1985, helping to promote the road-going 205's inherent abilities and ultimate potential. The GTI model was produced until 1994, firmly establishing itself as a must-have future classic and today, low-mileage, genuine examples are very rare, extremely hard to unearth and much sought-after. The car presented here is something very special indeed. This 1988, 205 GTI 1.9 has covered a quite exceptional and wholly verifiable mileage of just 5,726 miles from new. Silverstone Auctions have only ever known of another 205 GTI with such mileage, an example we sold in 2016 with 7,986 miles – this being the current world record price achieved at auction for such a model, standing at £31,625. Renowned website 205gti.info confirms the car presented here as being a Phase 1.5 UK model (being model year 1989 but with an assembly entry date at the Mulhouse factory of 20.09.88), having the XU9JA (non-cat) 128bhp engine and supplied in Alpine White paintwork with Red "Quattro" velour and Grey Leather seating. The car displays all the features that make it wholly consistent with its type and phase, plus it has lightweight Speedline alloy wheels and no sunroof.The car was first registered on the 24th November 1988 to the Peugeot Talbot Motor Company Ltd. and stills wears the evocative registration number ending in "OKV", which is famous for having been used on other Peugeot-owned press or "poster" cars over the years. The car was subsequently offered by Peugeot as a prize in association with "Grattan", the catalogue clothing retailer, which was open to all their agents throughout the country. The car was won by a lady from Ipswich, but she was unable to drive. The local newspaper at the time ran the headline "Winner of £10,000 car cannot drive". The woman's husband collected the car on her behalf from the local Peugeot dealership "Anglia Garage", and it was registered to him on the 22nd December 1988. The couple actually preferred to use their existing larger car, so drove the 205 GTI very infrequently, keeping it garaged and maintained. They kept it for the sake of posterity before selling it to our Peugeot-enthusiast vendor in December 2012, with the mileage then being 5,329. He is a true marque expert, having a small collection of prize-winning 205 GTI models, and is truly exacting when it comes to detail on these cars. During his ownership the car has been stored methodically, has never seen the rain and has been maintained regardless of cost, time or the mileage covered. The car is not portrayed as being in "Concours condition" - these examples are often extensively restored - and certainly, it could be with just the minimum of work, but is authentic and unfettered, even down to its original factory-fitted distributor bag still being in place! The car is accompanied by its history file containing a complete and original Peugeot book pack containing the original stamped-up service schedule, instructions manuals etc., all previous MoT certificates (minus just one in recent years), numerous invoices for servicing and maintenance – many of which are from Peugeot Talbot performance specialists 'skip Brown Cars" of Cheshire, two keys (with an "Anglia Garage" key-ring), a newspaper clipping documenting the handover to the prize winner's husband and two old style V5 documents showing Peugeot and one other as the only previous keepers. There is even a set of extremely rare Michelin MXV-P period tyres, which were an original fitting on these cars.Here then is the perfect storm – a model of car that is tipped for future appreciation, in a condition which is only achievable with a fully documented low mileage, with only one real previous owner and a great story. This is the type of car that the expression best-of-breed was coined to describe.