Le Mans 2025 was an epic feat of endurance and perseverance. And there was a 24-hour race on as well.
Without wishing to belittle the incredible efforts and achievements of all involved with the Le Mans 24-hour race itself, for many, it's merely the reason to organise a weekend of motoring overindulgence and pilgrimage. I've been fortunate enough to attend seven times now, each one different from the other, yet every time I come away looking forward to the next one. Even so, I suspect this year's trip to Le Mans may go down as one of the most memorable.
The seed was planted when we got wind of Peugeot's plan to unveil its new E-208 GTi to the world on the eve of the 24-hour race at the circuit itself. Then it transpired that Peugeot was inviting hundreds of owners of the 205 GTi to attend.
Gowan Auto - the Irish distributor for Peugeot - casually suggested that one of its dealers probably had a 205 GTi we could borrow for the occasion, and we metaphorically bit their hand off.
Time to go
Fast forward a few chaotic weeks of planning and logistics and we're sitting in the queue to board a ferry at Dublin Port. Adams of Glin, a Peugeot main dealer in Co. Limerick, generously provided its own 205 GTi for the journey, a pristine 1989 model in white with about 140,000 miles on the clock before we got our hands on it.
Despite the presence of the 15-inch 'Speedline' wheels usually found on the 205 GTi 1.9, the distinctive badge above the fuel filler on the side indicated that 'our' car was in fact the 1.6. Or so we thought. More on that in a moment.
I picked up the GTi a couple of days before the ferry crossing to get familiar with it. My first day driving it was during hot weather, drawing attention to the lack of air conditioning and indeed the asthmatic cabin fan. Allied with wind-up windows and no power steering, the 205 GTi makes quite the contrast from all the shiny new cars we spend most of our time in.
Regardless, it didn't take long behind the wheel to be smitten. No new car has as much personality. Anyway, the old-school aerodynamics make it possible to have the sunroof, side windows and rear quarterlights open at any speed to get air flowing through the cabin, with a side benefit of hearing the engine and exhaust hard at work.
Ireland's changeable summer weather soon put a stop to such shenanigans, however, as the heavens opened before we departed for the ferry port. Tackling a busy M50 in the lashing rain in a small and relatively old car such as the 205 GTi is quite the wake-up call.
Mercifully, and in spite of its age, the car proved to be stable and composed at higher speeds, indicating that perhaps not all of the suspension components fitted date back to the car's year of registration.
We also began to suspect that the larger wheels might be hiding other chassis upgrades, as this example sits particularly low to the ground. Not that it caused any issues getting on and off the ferry, but speedbumps definitely need to be taken slowly.
Bonjour France!
About 18 hours later we disembarked into the warm French sunshine in Cherbourg, some 900km from the factory this GTi was made in near the German border in Mulhouse. Thankfully, Le Mans is a lot closer at about 300km.
During our planning for the trip Google Maps had indicated that it should take between three and four hours to get to our Airbnb's location near the Le Mans train station, but we weren't planning to break any records.
Saying that, neither had we planned to stop less than an hour after leaving the port. Primarily this was to sort out my phone's connection to the network, but shortly before, the Peugeot's speedometer stopped working. We had already noticed that 3,000rpm in fifth was about 110km/h so it was annoying rather than a complete disaster. We were more perturbed that we'd not get a proper measurement of the total distance behind the wheel.
We couldn't see anything amiss under the bonnet, so got back under way with Google Maps working properly. Usefully it has a speed readout, along with the local speed limit, displayed on the screen when you're navigating to a destination.
A hidden secret
During our unscheduled pitstop, Adams of Glin messaged to inform us that its car wasn't quite the standard 1.6 GTi we believed it to be.
When the Peugeot 205 GTi first launched in 1984, it was solely offered with a naturally aspirated, fuel-injected, 1.6-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine making just 105hp. A new cylinder head helped up that to 115hp from 1986 on, the same time the 1.9-litre version with 130hp was introduced. Not excessive power by today's standards, but bear in mind that the 205 GTi started out as a sub-850kg featherweight, or about a third the weight of many large EVs today...
Apparently, someone shoehorned the 2.0-litre engine from a 306 GTi under the bonnet of our car, bringing peak power to “about 160hp” we're told, though curiously retaining what we believe to be the original car's five-speed gearbox (which is a gem to use on the move, incidentally).
This little detail helps explain just how feisty this car feels, though as it's someone else's pride and joy we didn't quite explore the upper reaches of the rev counter. Even so, it snarls and growls at its best in the mid-range as you go up through the gears, with the induction sounds dominating at first before the exhaust becomes more audible as revs rise.
It's irrelevant that most decent electric cars would easily out-accelerate even this souped-up version of the 205 GTi, as none of their drivers will be smiling as broadly.
Most of our journey to Le Mans was on free-flowing dual-carriageway, but we relished every excuse to get away from the straight roads and constant speed. The lack of power steering may take a little getting used to while manoeuvring, but on the open road it's sensational, with a feeling that you're rubbing the palms of your hands along the tarmac such is the detailed feedback through the skinny rim of the steering wheel.
And while the 1.6-litre GTi had to make do with drum brakes on the back, the car is so light that slowing down is never an issue. After just a few corners you're grinning manically at how lithe and agile the 205 is, regardless of the relatively low speeds it's capable of. It feels like a refreshing step back in time.
Things heat up
We arrive at our accommodation warm, but happy. Even when the casing covering the rear numberplate light falls off as we close the rear hatch, it's amusing rather than worrying. We've made it; we've arrived in Le Mans.
Except we're not finished for the day. There's more stress to come in the following hour than there has been since we departed Dublin about 24 hours before.
We have time to drop our bags off and freshen up before heading to the Le Mans race circuit for the unveiling of the E-208 GTi and other festivities. On returning to the car, it's a surprise to find the electric cooling fan still on.
It starts without hesitation, and we think nothing more of it as we input our destination into the phone and set off. After all, the poor little thing has been at high speed for hours on end and it's getting on for 30 degrees outside. Movement should do it good.
Then we spot the snarl ups shown on Google Maps en route to the track. Shortly after, with the car's coolant temperature gauge heading higher than we like the look of we resort to turning on the car's cabin heater, taking heat out of the engine. It works to an extent, and the high-temperature light never comes on, but we are melting in the stop-start traffic now, and my phone even switches itself off in protest.
This mini-drama distracts us from the excitement of the event as supporters make their way to campsites and bars, and before we know it, we're trundling through Arnage. Anyone that has been to Le Mans will know that it's customary on the eve of the race for the streets of Arnage to be lined by beer-swilling enthusiasts shouting encouragement at the drivers of all the interesting cars going by.
The gendarmes (French traffic police) are keeping a watchful eye on proceedings, but there's plenty of enthusiastic engine revving to the delight of the crowd. Our little GTi gets a big cheer, but we don't dare reward it with a roar of the hot little engine, which we've taken to switching off completely at times given how slow-moving the traffic is.
Peugeot 205 GTis as far as you can see
It's with huge relief that we arrive at the accreditation centre, pick up our entry passes and filter out onto part of the Bugatti Circuit as instructed without any sign of steam or coolant escaping the engine.
And suddenly it's all worthwhile. This part of the track isn't used for the 24-hour race, but it still has the famous yellow-and-blue kerbing, and nobody is telling us to keep it to walking pace...
All too quickly we find where we're supposed to park up for the weekend. It would be difficult to miss given there are 205 GTis parked up as far as the eye can see, and it's quite the sight. Ours is the only Irish-registered model though there are examples in all the available colours, some like new, some modified, others clearly used on a daily basis. It's a great illustration of the affection held for the original Peugeot GTi.
A worthy successor?
And hence the perfect precursor to witnessing the unveiling of its modern-day descendant, the new E-208 GTi. It'll be the first ever electric GTi on the road and has been developed with assistance from Peugeot Sport itself.
A front-mounted electric motor puts out 280hp and there have been significant chassis changes to help it live up to the hot-hatch promise of the badge.
It also looks sensational, and if the crowds in the Peugeot fanzone all weekend are anything to go by, the E-208 GTi should be a roaring success. You can read the full story on the car here.
The 205 GTi is to remain at the circuit for the weekend on display though we do check back on it the following morning to confirm no coolant has been lost. Conversations with owners of other 205 GTis the night before allayed our fears, however, as apparently, it's a car that runs hot anyway.
One owner reckons Peugeot adopted a strategy of switching on the electric fan late in order to improve the car's emissions (of pollutants, not CO2) back in the 1980s. Many owners change that, and some have fitted manual control of the fan; others have added an extra cooling fan. We're told not to worry about the car, though we don't find anyone else running a 2.0-litre engine instead of the standard 1.6...
Oh yeah, there's a race on
You can read all about the 24-hour race itself elsewhere, but the highlights for us this year were watching the thundering, rolling start from the Ford Chicane, observing the speed differentials of the various classes as cars accelerated with their lights blazing up the pit straight towards the iconic Dunlop Bridge and gasping at the near misses into Indianapolis.
It's a stunning spectacle regardless of who is winning or losing. And this year it was a relatively incident-free sprint over the full 24 hours, with plenty of potential winners up to the last few laps. Ferrari may have been victorious overall, but the chesty rumble of the V8s in the Cadillacs vied with the screaming naturally aspirated V12s in the Aston Martin Valkyries for the hearts of the 320,000-odd spectators.
Home time
With a ferry to catch and a plan to keep our top speed down to 100km/h on the way home in mind, we depart before the crowds, this time missing the track invasion at the end of the race.
The ambient temperature was more manageable thankfully, and traffic light, so we had a relaxed drive back to Cherbourg. Even miles away from Le Mans the little 205 GTi received loads of admiring glances, flashed lights and thumbs up.
At one stage a (non-GTi) 205 caught us up and stayed in convoy with us for a while before leaving the motorway with a flash of their headlights and a big cheery wave.
The bonhomie continued as we arrived at the port with plenty of time to spare. Several fellow travellers made the effort to come over and talk about the car and ask us about our trip before we boarded the ferry once more.
Our favourite comment came from the woman at passport control back in Dublin: “Ah jaysus lads, did you drive to France in tha'?! Where did ya go?”
“Have you heard of the Le Mans race?” I asked. “Well it was a bit like that.”