Peugeot 205 GTi

The benchmark 1980s hot hatch — Peugeot's 205 GTi defined what a Hot Hatch was, against the Mk2 Golf GTI's stiffer-looking competition. 1.6 first (105 bhp at launch, 115 bhp from 1986), then 1.9 from 1986 (130 bhp, lifted to 122 bhp post-cat in 1992). Three-door only, lightweight (around 880 kg), brilliantly tuned MacPherson front and torsion-bar rear, lift-off oversteer that became part of the Peugeot legend. Built at Mulhouse and sold in the UK from 1984 to 1994. Rust on the rear arches, sills and the boot floor is the killer; clean cars are now £18-30k for a tidy 1.9 with paperwork, and Dimma-bodied tribute cars confuse the market. Probably the most-loved hot hatch ever made — and a pure analogue benchmark that nothing modern can replicate.