Peugeot is currently rebuilding a 205 GTi to original specification – and the service will be open to the public from early 2021
Peugeot has launched a new restoration service for its heritage vehicles, operating from the workshops of Peugeot’s own museum dedicated to displaying the company’s most famous classic vehicles.
Peugeot’s in-house restoration service won’t be open to the public until early 2021, but the firm’s engineers are already hard at work: they’re currently rebuilding an original 205 GTi 1.9 to factory fresh specification.
The shell has already been stripped bare of its engine, suspension and interior, and any rust holes the engineers find are being filled in with the correct gauge steel, stamped to match the original panels.
Once the body rot has been remedied, Peugeot plans to draft in an army of engine builders, panel beaters, painters and textile trimmers to put the 205 GTi back to how it was when it first rolled off the production line more than 35 years ago. That means everything – even the weave of the fabric on the seats – will match that of a brand new one.
The project has required Peugeot to secure an enormous catalogue of parts, but the French brand says it has sourced pretty much everything required to rebuild its most popular heritage models.
Peugeot has also got its bases covered for any elusive items, as the brand plans to simply make the missing parts new using either specialist tradesmen or 3D manufacturing techniques.
After the public launch takes place, customers will be able to either buy a newly restored vehicle straight from the factory or take their own vehicles to the Musée de l’Aventure and have them restored officially by Peugeot’s workforce.
Luke Wilkinson