The Peugeot 205 has been covered here at CC a few times, perhaps most recently here. And for some of you, it’s a pretty mundane sight. But when I pulled into a diagonal parking spot for an evening meeting last month, I did a double take when I slotted in next to this car. It was possibly the first time I’d seen one here in the US.
The VW GTI has been a popular car here since it was introduced here in 1983 as a Westmoreland (Pennsylvania, US) built Rabbit variation. It was arguably the first “hot hatch” sold in the US, even though it took six years to make it over after its launch in 1977. Today’s VW GTI with its 2 litre turbocharged motor and four doors is a far cry from the original, but this Pug seems even simpler than those early Mk 1 GTI’s. The Montana plates are a hint to its importation state … California still has smog regulations that make registering 25 year old imports, even if DOT and EPA exempt, a bit challenging.
In addition to the car itself, this original looking sticker on the rear window piqued my interest.
Apparently it’s a Spanish colloquialism equivalent to “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth” and was used as a marketing slogan in Spain as well as Latin America. But I couldn’t find much information about this on the web in English, and my Spanish is pretty weak, so if anyone knows more about it … could this be a Spanish or Chilean-built 205? Though the sticker is in such good shape, maybe it’s not original. And has anyone else seen a 205 in the US?
The defroster element on the rear window reaching down to the wiper placement is brilliant, and needs to be copied, full stop (Native Minnesotan). Brilliantly smart. I would have nearly fainted if I spotted one of these on my routine here. The GTi I’d rather, that’s for sure.
The Chrysler minivan from a few years either side of my 99 had an electric defrosting grid in the area where the front wipers parked. One of the many great ideas that went away with later cost cuts.
According to Wikipedia 205s were made in Spain and Chile, and it’s easier to export from Europe so this car is probably Spanish. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the metal over here but the rise of the Internet has made grey imports of older cars much easier along with stronger dollar. Personally I’d go for its spiritual successor the 106 Rallye homolgotion special
I corrected my reference to Argentina to read Chile. Thanks.
That’s a very nice catch Dman! Oh how us young guys were drooling all over the 205 GTi, back in the eighties. Especially the 1.9 GTi of course, preferably in black. The VW Golf Mk2 GTI and the later ones? Never mind.
In the eighties and nineties, PSA ruled the go-fast scene. Peugeot offered many hot ‘n spicy versions of their bestsellers, such as the 205, 309 and 306 GTi, the 405 Mi16 and the little 106 Rallye.
Citroën also had its fair share with cars like the Saxo VTS/VTR and the BX GTi 16v (soupapes = valves).
As with most cars, 205s from different origins were sold in different markets. Herre in Uruguay there were locally assembled CKD imported from France and Spain (never from Chile for example).
“Contigo al fin del mundo” was a Spanish Peugeot slogan, meaning more or less what you said. You’ll say that meaning “With you I’d go anywhere in the world”. You can see one of the ads here: https://youtu.be/GrdSyY4ySP0
That means the 205 was probably originally sold in Spain, but doesn’t add anything to where it was built, as GTIs might have been produced in France and XLs in Spain (just saying, I don’t have a clue about that)
It’s a pocket rocket.
Thanks for sharing!
Given that Peugeots are sold in Mexico, and given that Mexico is not far from you, and given how often Mexican cars find their way into the US, and given that they speak Spanish in Mexico, I’d say the odds are good that it’s from Mexico.
Of course I might be wrong…
Apparently Peugeot re-entered the Mexican market in the late ‘90’s; however I found a posting on a 205GTI forum from a Mexican owner, looking for parts and advice, and he seemed to suggest that the 205, or at least the GTI, wasn’t officially imported. The 306 was. But of course Mexico has interesting VW, Nissan, and other cars not sold here, so will presumably become a good source for imports as they age into compliance with the EPA and DOT exemptions.
I’ve already changed my mind; it’s most likely a European import from Spain, and the owner is licensing it in Montana to get around CA smog tests. See Johnster’s comment further down.
Montana is up their against Canada. Were Peugeots sold in Canada then, particularly in Quebec? I was there back in the olden days and there were Renaults and Peugeots all over the place. So maybe it was a Canadian one that a Montanan got after the 25-year deal, although I would expect a French slogan n the window.
OMG…there, not their. Didn’t this comment thing have an Edit feature before?
In Montana, the first numbers on a license plate represent the county that the vehicle is registered in and where the owner probably lives. There are 56 counties in Montana and the numbers were originally assigned in the early 1900s based on the population of the counties at that point in time, with number 1 being assigned to Silver Bow County, which was the most populous county in the state at that time.
The number “46” shows that this car is registered in Granite County in western Montana. The county seat for Granite County is Philipsburg, but there are several other small towns in the rural county where the car’s owner could live.
Thanks for this explanation. It makes a lot of sense, as it applies to this car. Fascinating how folks find ways to circumvent obstacles.
The 205 was not offered for sale in Canada. Peugeot fled the Canadian market in ’91 when they fled the US market.
It’s the Spain slogan. That’s a Spanish car, either built in Vigo (the former Citroën factory) or at the outskirts of Madrid (for those of you who are die-hard Mopar fans, the former Barreiros factory). Of course, being a sporty version it could already have been imported from France. After all, Spain joined the ECC in 1986 and European cars became national cars overnight.
Anyway, the Spanish ad of that car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmpwmxVPc_0
Defintately the sticker is from the campaign in Spain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrdSyY4ySP0
(And it’s a dialectal thing, the same way you English speakers say boot and trunk for the same thing, we Spanish speakers do the same with not only accent but words. And they do use different expressions in the Americas)
Thanks!
That’s quite a find in the US, I suspect. It would in Europe too, looking as good as that and in daily use. Just so right in so many ways, not least size.
“contigo al fin del mundo” is a declaration of love. Isn’t there something like this in english language? “I will love you ’til the end of time”, or “I will always love you” or something like that.
However, the 205 had a predessor, a real gem. Peugeot 104Z. Incredible 93 HP at 800 KG (1760 pounds). Even this could beat a VW Golf GTi back then. And I think it came out much earlier than the GTi.
Nice find and pics! Wish these were sold in North America. I found them significantly more attractive than either the R5, Alliance or Encore.
Montana will allow you to register a vehicle to a Montana LLC even if you do not have a Montana address. They’ll even issue you a permanent plate so you don’t have to continually renew your registration. Some law offices that specialize in this business in MT will even secure you a “real” MT address (as in a street address, not a PO Box) and then forward the mail on to you at an address of your choosing. This is frequently used to avoid taxes on high-value vehicles in other states, such as RVs. I also occasionally see some exotic cars here in CA with Montana plates, presumably for the same reason.
However, this technique can also be used to register cars that can’t pass emissions tests in CA due to not ever having been certified by CARB; even if they’d pass the actual sniffer test, they’ll fail a visual inspection. I have no urge to cheat CA out of registration fees and taxes, but since they refuse to exempt from smog any 1976-or-later cars, I’ll be forced to use a Montana LLC should the opportunity arise to import some “forbidden fruit” like this. The 205 GTI would be my second choice after a Eunos Cosmo.
Thanks, I’ll start looking out for Montana plates here in California.
Excuse me am I reading you right about 1976 and later not exempt since the State law says 1975 and later are exempt.
CA law states 1975 and *earlier* are exempt. 1976 and up is not exempt.
I think this is my “favorite car that I’ve never actually driven that is still attainable and reasonable for a mere mortal”. The red carpet in many of them seals the deal alone. If I ever hit it big one of these needs to be in my fantasy garage. Excellent find, thank you for sharing.
A design that looked great then, and has stood up really well. Very purposeful, nice lines and perfectly proportioned.
There’s a 205 GTI lives close to me that I see fairly regularly around here, driven by a young guy. Always makes me very envious when I see it.
Quite the weapon small Peugeots and their platform mate Citroens 205GTIs are rare here the last one I saw was at a Peugeot specialist wrecker repairer he has in excess of 200 cars around his place and one is a white 205 GTI with the stock alloy wheels it looked terribly complete like it was on the revival list rather than the parts car list.
Nope, I have never ever seen one of these, so a cool find!
And what great comments. I have never had the need for a Montana address, but now that I know one is available I kind of want one – just because. How exotic I would seem, as “the guy from Montana” in the midwest. 🙂
Count me as another one thrilled to see this rare find. Would love to see one in the flesh. Were that ever to happen, you can be sure I would document it with quite a number of pics. Thanks for posting, Dman.
Still occasionally see 205s, these days they’re at least as likely to be GTis as the once more common types.