Our favourite cars of 2023: Peugeot 205 GTi Tolman Edition

Is ‘restomod fatigue’ a thing? I’m not sure, but if it is, past I’ve surely been suffering from thing similar it implicit the past twelvemonth oregon so.

The aboriginal exponents of this updating creation were reasonably elemental successful their approach, serving up a sharper driving acquisition portion retaining the donor car’s retro looks and character.

Yet precocious the country appears to person changed, the accent shifting to outlandish money-no-object projects that seemingly obliterate the archetypal machine’s property successful pursuit of the coffee-run (ugh!) bragging rights of a well-heeled few.

However, the Tolman 205 GTi proved that it doesn’t person to beryllium this way.

For starters, it really looks similar the car it’s based on, to the constituent that adjacent keen lion lovers volition astir apt disregard it arsenic a banal example, albeit a beautifully kept one.

And portion the period-perfect exterior and interior fell immoderate heavy modded mechanicals, nary of the galore changes dilutes the accelerated French hatch’s halfway appeal.

If you’ve driven a 205 previously, past a blast successful the Tolman volition bring blessed memories, and if you haven’t, past you’ll soon recognize what the fuss was about.

Yes, it’s faster than the aged car (a bespoke 200bhp twin-cam 16-valve 1.9-litre centrifugal sees to that) but the razor-sharp throttle effect and classical hot hatch big-engine-in-a-small-car vibe stay intact.

And portion there’s a invited injection of precision, power and braking power, the Tolman handles with the aforesaid old-school Gallic flair arsenic the original, its acrobatic agility, fluid thrust and endless throttle adjustability serving up engagement and amusement careless of velocity oregon circumstance.

With prices starting astatine astir £60,000, the exquisitely finished Tolman is inactive pricey, but it’s a snip compared with immoderate of the mind-boggling figures being charged for machines that are progressively ‘mod’ and little ‘resto’.

More importantly, the Tolman 205 GTi was the car that near maine grinning the astir successful 2023, the silly grin plastered connected my look from the infinitesimal I clapped eyes connected it until agelong aft I’d clambered retired of the driver’s spot and handed backmost the keys.