$251,000 for the Peugeot from the 1980s?

A sale price in this realm is by far the most for any post-war Peugeot that was not a LeMans prototype.

This result shows the immense passion behind this legendary vehicle – which was hand-assembled and carries the same tubular steel monocoque as the T16 rally cars. The primary difference is in engine power, with this Turbo 16 putting out a relatively paltry 196-horsepower. But at the time, in the mid-1980s, power outputs like that in a mid-engine subcompact was still enough to provide a shocking level of thrust.

1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

To be auctioned on Monday, September 8, 2014

Sold for £156,800

• Chassis no. VF3741R76E5100117

197 bhp, 1,775 cc 16-valve turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel drive, front and rear independent suspension, and four-wheel ventilated disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,418 mm

• Rare example of a homologated Group B-winning WRC car
• Hardly 1,700 original kilometres
• As-new condition inside and out

The Turbo 16 appeared at first glance as merely a hopped-up version of Peugeot’s then-ubiquitous 205 small car, but it was actually one of the most technologically advanced performance cars available at the time of its introduction in late 1983.

Although it did share some of its body panels with the standard 205, the T16, as it was known outside of France, eschewed that model’s modest, naturally aspirated engines under the front bonnet for a 197-brake horsepower, mid-mounted, 16-valve turbo unit, which nestled where the rear seats would otherwise be. Wedged in with the XU series four-cylinder is an intercooler and a four-wheel drive gearbox that works in tandem with an “epicyclic” centre differential and viscous coupling, which allowed for performance-minded drivers to apportion power between the axles, as needed.