All photos by author.
Bonjour mesdames et messieurs, I hope Curbside Classic’s convertible celebration is suitably salubrious for you! Celebrations such as this generally call for fine French champagne, but this is Curbside Classic, not Curbside Connoisseur, so may I instead present you with a fine French automobile: a 1989 Peugeot 205 CL Cabriolet. Yes I know that although ‘cabriolet’ is French for ‘convertible’, purists will say it isn’t a convertible because it has a rollbar and the rear windows don’t fully retract, but I consider it a convertible because it converts from a tintop to a no-top! I spotted the featured 205 no-top at a car show late last year where, rather than cavorting in the sun with the other cars, it was snoozing gently in the shade. Vive le sieste? Or plaisir sous le soleil?
Well actually, the 205 was anything but a snoozefest, winning immediate acclaim from journalists and the public alike when launched on 24 February 1983. When we first covered one here on CC, in 2011, author James Pembroke Tenneson credited it with “Unexpected Greatness”. Roger Carr went one step further in 2013 when he put the 205 forward as “a candidate for the Most Significant Car of the 1980s“, noting the 205 had the following attributes:
- looked good
- good to drive
- brought diesel power to the mainstream
- was the the “best hot hatch of all time” in immortal 205 GTi form; and
- set the size template for modern superminis
Looking good was and is one of the 205’s most emotive attributes, and the styling was so ‘right’ that it remained basically unchanged for 15 years. In fact, it influenced many of Peugeot’s later designs, and its echos can still be seen nearly 25 years after its launch in my partner’s Peugeot 307.
Although the two tintops tykes were Peugeot designs, the company had a long-standing relationship with Pininfarina, and called upon the latter to style the Cabriovertiblet. The resulting styling makes me think of words like ‘pert’, ‘pretty’ and ‘cute as a button’. It also make me think of Wham’s 1983 hit ‘Club Tropicana’. No, I don’t know why – the Club Tropicana video clip doesn’t even feature 205s, but the song is carefree, bright and breezy, just like driving in a topless 205!
One of the few things to change over the 205’s life was the interior. The dashboard changed in 1988, and a couple of years after that, the rest of the interior was updated. The feature Convertioletble was sold new in New Zealand on 13 April 1989 and features the new dashboard. It also features a 1300cc engine and five-speed manual transmission, so wouldn’t be terribly fast. In fact, in the featured photos, it looks like it’s standing still! Oh wait… But let’s face it, a convertible-cabriolet that looks as cute as the 205 isn’t about speed! It’s about fun in the sun, and the 205 Cabriolet offered that in bucketloads – vive le plaisir sous le soleil!
Others will probably disagree but I feel the 205 was a turning point car for Peugeot in that the maker built a car that wasn’t a sensible 4 door sedan and even the least powerful examples seemed to say “let’s go and have some fun”. It also makes me think that if BL had had the money…AND IMAGINATION this is what a 2nd (or 3rd?) generation Mini might have evolved into.
One of the few French cars I would like to own even if it only possible to find a RHD example…which thankfully it is not.
The 205 was a very crucial car for Peugeot. One can say that thanks to the 205, Peugeot didn’t go bankrupt. The automaker was in a very bad shape right before it was introduced.
What the Golf was for Volkswagen, was the 205 for Peugeot.
100% agree! Brilliant car, and in its simplest execution, like GLD, very reliable one:)
Great car. Never had a chance to drive the cabrio version, I wonder if it lost some of its sharpness or handling prowess.
Nice catch, Scott. It seems that someone took good care of the little Peugeot.
There was also a 205 GTi-convertible, called the 205 CTi.
Thank you Scott for posting such an attractive little car. In its day I would have considered one, I just hope that they were reasonably reliable, too.
As one who has seen about 2 Peugeot’s in his entire life, this is an attractive car and can see why it was successful.
One question: Is the rear storage compartment (notice how I said neither boot nor trunk) larger than what the size of the car seems to suggest? I suspect it is, but have to ask.
There was a time when Peugeot’s were fairly common here, at least on the west coast.
And both the Peugeots you’ve seen were in the two peugeot posts from me? 😉 You’re welcome! 😉
The rear luggage compartment is possibly quite reasonable seeing as the roof folds down on top of it rather than within it. Having said that, photographs of the compartment in question are few and far between on the interwebberies, so it’s not easy to tell. Here’s the best photo I could find:
That looks fairly livable. Thank you; outside looks can be quite deceptive at times.
This or its identical twin was for sale recently on facebook in Hawkes Bay asking price was only $500 and Ive seen the car it was far from a wreck, tempting but only to flick Ive no interest in driving a rag top again, Cool little cars though the original hot hatch though VW claim that title their GTI cant out pace a diesel Peugeot even in a straight line and it certainly cant match one around corners.
Nice find, Keep the pinstriping, I’ll take the rest.
Sweet! This goes at the other end of the scale from the Yugo posted the other day.
I can tell this is going to be a rough week…I’ll end up being glad for the 1 car garage as it will prevent me dragging a Fiat 500 Cabrio home.
Not the most built proof in its day Scott. You forgot to mention the flimsy build quality and
typical French electrics . A friend did 130000 miles in his 94 1.1ltr. Told him to sell it back to Peugeot to put in their museum!.
Quite an attractive little car; shame we never had them in the US market. Could have been a credible competitor for the Golf Cabriolet, which had the “small Euro convertible runabout” market pretty much to itself at the time. The Alfa Spider was still around but not aimed at the same market point and considerably more pricey.
just a inpression from my car. 205 cl year 1988