Anyone with at least half a heart and only half a brain will love the Peugeot 205 GTi. It’s a hot hatch classic, looks just right with its pert Pininfarina packaging, and while even the regular 205 is cracking to drive the GTi is brilliant. But what if you wish for more low-end grunt than can be tickled out of the powerplants originally available? What would be your choice for a heart transplant?

Some power-hungry 205 owners have gone with the route of sourcing mechanicals from the 405 Mi16, as the 1.9-litre XU derivative in it has almost 160hp stock, compared to the 130hp version in the stock 205 1.9 GTi. But if 1.9 litres isn’t enough and you’re willing to experiment within the Peugeot engine palette, you can do what the owner of this white 205 did. It’s turbo diesel time.

Starting with a humble 1.6 GTi, this 205 has received a completely overhauled engine from a 406 turbodiesel, with a factory-fresh head and new rubber mounts, under a higher hood from a 1.9 automatic. The fuel pump is a tweaked Bosch unit. The gearbox has had an once-over too, with the ratios lengthened and seals renewed. Clutch comes from a four-wheel-drive 405 Mi16x4, and the rear axle has also been renovated and the car now features discs all round. The steering is now power assisted as well.

Other additions/improvements are a new radiator and a host of suspension parts, along with a light update. It also seems the grille has been swapped, and I’d rather swap it back for the original one. I’m also not fond of the aux lights. The white wheel, however, can stay.

The seller describes the car’s new-found grunt as thus: “Unbelievably fast, top speed over 200km/h. Will spin the tires in 3rd gear at 80km/h by just giving it a bit more gas.”

The interior of the 205 is described as flawless. Outside it’s fine, but there are a couple of knocks on the driver door. In this pic the car features the original steering wheel.

The cherry on the cake is that with the removal of the rear seat the car has been registered as a commercial vehicle, decimating the yearly diesel tax. So, even with the litre price hike of diesel fuel it’s still seriously cheap to run.

It’s not cheap to buy, however, with the asking price hovering at 5500 eur. It’s true there’s been everything done that you can perform on a 205:s mechanicals, but a non-modified GTi is something in the region of 1500-2000 eur and you can get a Mi16’ed one for 3000, if that’s what you would like instead. But if cheap running costs and turbo diesel thrills are what you’re after, here you have it all neatly packaged.

[Source: Nettiauto.com (partially in Finnish]