spot_img
FeaturesMe and my car: Chris Tolman and his Peugeot 205 GTI restomod

Me and my car: Chris Tolman and his Peugeot 205 GTI restomod

It looks standard, but this little 205 is anything but.

Chris Tolman’s award-winning Peugeot 205 GTI restomod is so subtle you’d have to drive it to know it. He tells Charlotte Vowden what’s going on beneath the bonnet.

The Peugeot 205 GTI not only roamed the streets during the 1980s, it ruled them. Respectful of its era-defining legacy, Chris Tolman’s restomod is modest yet full of surprises that will make even the most nostalgic former 205 owners feel a quickening in their hearts.

The idea with this restomod was that it should behave and drive how you think you remember a Peugeot 205, not how it actually was; so it starts from cold, doesnt stall when I get to traffic lights and revs to 7500rpm quite happily. 

By putting it on a modern engine management system Ive ended up with a 1600 GTI thats got more power than a 1900. You can lean on it, and although its not massively powerful by todays standards, you can enjoy driving it flat out without breaking speed limits. My little 205 is so communicative, it dances around and has the ideal balance of lightweight and power, but the restomod is so mild you cant tell by looking at it, which is really cool.

The archaic fuel injection system has been replaced, the suspension and brakes are far better than they ever were, and its got a decent stereo system in it; one of those Blaupunkt ones that looks old but connects to your smartphone. 

My father was a mechanic and from my earliest memories worked at a Peugeot dealership, or Peugeot Talbot as it was in those days, so thats where my interest was kindled. Fast-forward ten or so years and he worked for another business that prepared cars for rallying. I think I was 10 years old when he took me to Longleat to watch a round of the 205 Challenge and the conditions were appalling. It was pouring down with rain, and although it was great watching the cars tearing through the countryside, I wanted to see under their skin and see what the mechanics were doing, so my dad took me to the service area. 

We watched these guys soaked through with water, lying in puddles working on these cars that were dripping in mud. Apparently I said Dad, thats what I want to do. I want to travel the world and do that”, so I did. I became a mechanic on the Mitsubishi world rally team, travelled the world and eventually opened up my own business, Tolman Motorsport. During Covid, when the business had to shut for a period of time, the 205 was a project that I really got my head into.

I found the 205, a very rare 1989 J plate car, about seven years ago. I paid about £1,000 and put it into storage. In early 2019 my manager Nick and I decided to use it as a training exercise to bring the guys in the workshop up to speed on the practicalities and processes involved with a full restoration. They are extremely skilled and highly qualified engineers but I come from an aircraft background so the way I run projects in the workshop is quite disciplined. Theres a lot of paperwork to fill in that gives us traceability.

It was meant to be absolutely as original, albeit with upgrades that you could expect when you bought the car such as central locking, power steering and electric windows, but I thought as a bog standard car it would be a bit disappointing to drive in todays world so put it onto modern engine management – with the proviso that it was going to look standard – so no throttle bodies or big air filters. Weve worked very hard to keep on top of the fuel situation and the Peugeot is future proofed in that respect because the fuel system has been made compatible for use with E10.

To me the Peugeot 205 isnt an old car because Im quite old myself, Im 46, but when youre working with guys in their twenties they look at it as a classic car because its not something they grew up with. A lot of people think that when manufacturers build cars everything is regimented and to the book, but go back 20 to 30 years and it wasnt always the case. The 205 had quite a lot of oddities, which is the reason why I bought it, and Ive run with most of them because they worked; they also add character and quirkiness. 

MaMC Peugeot 205 GTi

Its a 1600, but has the 1900 wheels because a lot of the roll out cars used up all the bits that they had kicking around in the factory. Hardly anybody has seen the style of bracing thats on the chassis under the inner wings at the front, but its not something thats been done aftermarket. I think the throttle body was off a car that would have had air-conditioning, this one never did, so the terminals were corroded because theyve never had anything plugged into them. There were also oddities in the wiring loom. This is a late car, known as a Phase 2, but it had some Phase 1.5 wiring in it so there was very little consistency in colours going through bulkhead connectors.

 I wasnt happy with the aftermarket exhaust system that was on the GTI when I bought it but couldnt find one that was correct for the car, so had one manufactured with a cast exhaust manifold and the right downpipes that have a blade in the middle so you get a 4 into 2 into 1 tuned length. When we tested it on the rolling road it made a huge difference to the mid-range torque of the car, and it looks right, so Im particularly proud of that. I made the roll bar on the rear, which makes the turning really sharp. 

Top Gear asked if they could have it as a contender for their performance car of the year, which was absolutely mind blowing. It made the top 5, and finished second. Its really buoyed me up so Im thinking about doing a limited run of 10 similar vehicles.

Its not the car I had when I was 20-odd and driving around Bournemouth with my two best mates, who also had Peugeot 205s, but there are similarities. Its in the same special edition Sorrento Green, which looks black in some lights, and like the one I had back then it has a factory-fitted sunroof. I still have to drive around with the sun blind open otherwise it touches my hair, which is really annoying. 

Im 6ft and built like a rugby player. These cars werent made for big guys like me, but when I drove it on the motorway for the first time I realised how small it is, and how delicate I feel inside it. If I go out with somebody, you both have to be courteous because theres not much room; when putting on your seatbelts, you have to do it one at a time.

I think my dad is really proud that Ive gone from being an obsessed teenager to owning my own workshop. Ive not taken him for a drive in the 205 yet, he lives in Dorset so I havent seen him much in the last couple of years because of Covid-19, but I hope to. Until then, driving it on the little roads back to my place in Leamington where I live, is just lovely, but I do plan to sell it next year to fund my next project.”

Join the club:

Peugeot Sport Club UK

Want to share the story of your car? Get in touch by email at:

Hello@mikebrewermotoring.com


If you found this article of interest, you may also enjoy…

Me and my car: Keiran Reid and his 1971 MGB GT

Modern Classics – Peugeot 106 GTi

Wheeler Dealers transform a classic hot hatchback

- Advertisement -spot_img
- Advertisment -spot_img
- Advertisment -spot_img

You may like...

Me and My Test Drive: The new Volvo Ex30

One of the big complaints is that electric cars are expensive. Well when this new Volvo EX30 arrives on our shores later this year,...

Me and My Car: Kieran Carpenter and his Toyota Starlet

Surviving Toyota Starlets are likely to be spotted in suburbia but owner Kieran Carpenter thinks his rally-liveried daily driver is more suited to back...
- Advertisement -spot_img
- Advertisement -spot_img
- Advertisement -spot_img