The best-known Peugeot GTI is almost certainly the French company’s pocket rocket 205, in both 1.6 and 1.9-litre forms. However, those three performance letters were also applied by Peugeot to a number of other cars in their range, including some otherwise quite staid family hatchbacks and saloons, including the 106, 306, 309, even the executive saloon 604 – which was in fact the first Peugeot to carry those initials – and the model which is the subject of our Prime Find column this week, the 505.
Introduced in 1979 as the replacement for the long-running and very popular 504, the Peugeot 505’s understated exterior was created by a combination of in-house and Pininfarina stylists, with an interior designed by Paul Bracq, most famous for the Mercedes SL “Pagoda”. It shared many of its predecessor’s underpinnings, while looking very much like a bigger 305. It also shared the 504’s reputation for durability, handling and ride, and its popularity in Africa.
Evolution
It was a fairly large car, at 4.579m (15 feet) in length and was positioned as an executive saloon, so competition for the 505 in the UK came in the form of cars such as the Ford Granada and Rover SD1, while in its home and wider mainland Europe markets, the Citroen CX, Renault 20, Audi 100 and BMW 5-series might have been considered alternatives.
Some of the Peugeot 505’s rivals
Engines ranged from a basic 179cc 4-cylinder through to a 2,849cc V6 from the 604 once the latter had ceased production in 1985, as well as a couple of diesel engines. Transmissions were 4 and 5-speed manuals, and a 3-speed automatic, and the 505 was the last rear-wheel-drive car to be built by Peugeot. Body styles, besides the standard 4-door saloon, included a 5-door estate launched in 1982, known as the Break, and the extended wheelbase Familiale, which could be ordered with eight (yes!) seats, and as usual, a variety of trim levels were on offer.
The 505 was a great success for Peugeot and was built in factories around the globe – as well as at their Sochaux factory, the 505 was manufactured in locations as far afield as China, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria – where it was built until as recently as 2006 – Argentina and Indonesia, among others. A total of 1,351,254 505s were produced between 1978 and 1999 with 1,116,868 of these being saloons, and while there are very few remaining in the UK, there are plenty in France and especially in Africa.
Focusing on our Prime Find, the 505GTI was not, in fact, the most powerful or sportiest 4-cylinder version of the range – there was Turbo-powered model, the 505 Turbo, that pushed out 178bhp, enough to take the car to a top speed of almost 130mph (210km/h) – but in the UK, it was the 505GTI that was the performance star.
Motor Sport tested the 505GTI back in their April 1984 issue and praised several of the car’s features including the ride, handling, luggage capacity, overall level of equipment and value for money. The 125bhp gave the car “brisk” performance, although the slightly lowered suspension – by an inch – made it ride a little less comfortably than the standard saloon.
By the time we get to the year of our Prime Find – 1988 – we’re reaching the latter years of the 505’s production run. The original Paul Bracq interior has been replaced as part of a 1986 facelift, and this particular example comes from New Zealand, having been originally supplied to a dealer in Auckland. Cars for the NZ market generally had higher levels of equipment – in this case, that included aircon, electric sunroof and even heated seats, as standard!
Brought over to the UK in 2018 by the current owner, the car is of course right-hand-drive, and presents in exceptional condition, according to the selling dealer. It is rust-free, and the grey velour interior looks barely used. The car would appear to have been very well looked after, and the first owner had documented all the work and servicing carried out on the car during his custodianship. It also comes with it’s original handbook and build certificate from Peugeot confirming its date of manufacture as September 24th 1987.
It’s being sold on behalf of the current owner by a dealer in Essex, and we have borrowed some of the plentiful photographs from the dealer’s website. Based on those photos, the car does indeed look to be in excellent shape. Grey is perhaps not the most inspiring colour, but it suits such an understated car well. The selling dealer has given the car a full service, refurbished the alloys – which have covered only 74,000 miles in 33 years – shod them with new Michelin TRX tyres, and fitted a new Momo steering wheel among a few other minor upgrades.
The combination of 125bhp, a 5-speed manual ‘box, 112mph top speed, spacious and comfortable cabin, huge boot, and high levels of equipment make this a pretty desirable ‘80’s executive express, one that appears to be in excellent condition – all for £12,000. And with just five on the road in the UK, this Gallic performance saloon is also very exclusive, on this side of the English Channel, at least.
You can see the full advert here, and should you be interested in treating yourself to a late Christmas present, we recommend you arrange prior inspection if possible.
