1998 Peugeot 106 GTi | Projects

1998 Peugeot 106 GTi

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The Project

Breathing new life into iconic classics at Carrosserie HQ. This 1998 Peugeot 106 GTI mid restoration arrived in June 2023.

Updates

23rd June 2023: In for full bodywork repairs. Currently has been shot-blasted and red coat applied.

8th February 2024: Bodywork, outer panels and doors have began to be prepped before the first primer coat can be applied.

22nd February 2024: The interior and exterior of the body has had the initial first prep completed, and primer is now being applied for further preparation before paint.

11th April 2024: Body and doors have been painted. Just the bonnet left to be painted and the bodykit to be refitted and then it will go back to the owner.

19th – 25th May: Tailgate, bonnet, wing mirrors, hinges, handles, side skirts and petrol flap have been prepped, painted and are now complete.

31st May 2024: The car has been fully resprayed, reassembled and had a final coat of wax to finish the job. It’s now been loaded onto the trailer to be delivered back to it’s owner to complete the rest of the works.

What buyers should know

Tiny, pert, and blessed with one of the best front-wheel drive chassis of its era, the 106 GTi and larger 306 GTi dominated 1990s hot hatch group tests until Renault Sport got into its stride with a string of hot Clios.

The 106 line made its debut in 1991 but it wasn’t until the phase two models arrived in 1996 that a GTi-badged model arrived. Sure, there had been brisk 106s beforehand – the pre-facelift car enjoyed XSi and Rallye versions (and the latter remains one of our favourite classic hot hatches) – but the GTi, priced at £12,835 in 1997, was hottest of all.

Peugeot managed to squeeze a full 1.6 litres under the bonnet, the TU5J4 unit boasting a double overhead cam 16-valve head. This allowed for a peak power figure of 120bhp, and a stout 107lb ft of torque. A five-speed manual transmission handled drive to the front wheels. Front suspension was by MacPherson struts linked by an anti-roll bar, while trailing arms, a torsion bar and another anti-roll bar suspended the back half of the car – all typical Peugeot hot hatch stuff.

A kerb weight of 950kg is nothing special for a car as small as the 106, but it endowed the GTi with a respectable power-to-weight ratio – higher than that of the 1.8-litre turbocharged Volkswagen Golf Mk4 GTI. As such, it sprinted to 60mph in only 7.4 seconds and only narrowly avoided hitting 130mph.

Friendly, helpful, extremely knowledgeable, patient enough to explain the processes and reasons for doing things and highlighted even more how approachable the team are. They tried to accommodate our needs and requests to get our beloved old riley back on the road as soon as possible despite the ups and downs that were thrown our way and into the teams path! We could not have wished to deal with a more personable company after encountering some other teams that really made a botch of stuff, seemed uncommitted and were not professional at all. Carrosserie as a team were totally the opposite . . would we recommend them ? ABSOLUTELY !!! We would not go anywhere else now, THANK YOU TO Steve, Neil, Graham and Nicola . . Oh and Karen who spilled the beans about the the birthday surprised to my partner (whose car it is ) . but made the experience all the more special when a bottle of wine was presented as well as a treat to Simon for his birthday AND made it all the more worth dealing with the team ! THANK YOU AGAIN !!!

My car was the subject of some body and paint repairs here in Spring 2024, to address corrosion plus some substandard paintwork. An annual service was also carried out. There was good responsive communications, advice, and attention to detail throughout, to ensure a high quality, durable result, with the final paintwork being indistinguishable from factory finish, and easily better than any franchised dealership repairs. If you are invested in your classic car, want to make it last, with an exemplary finish to be proud of, then you need look no further.

I can't recommend Carrosserie highly enough, the service was exemplary from start to finish and the workmanship is second to none. I highly recommend giving the team a call for any work you need doing to your classic car, no matter what it is, you will not be disappointed!