MEET THE OWNER – AIDAN SANDERSON AND HIS PEUGEOT 205
10 January 2023
It is a major shock to realise that the 205 will celebrate its 40th birthday in 2023. That Gérard Welter styling still looks up-to-date, and it is hard to believe the early models were contemporaries of the Morris Ital. Today, the Peugeot is attracting an increasing number of younger enthusiasts, such as Aidan, the owner of this very handsome 1992 Junior Mi16. In his words:
I’m 18 years old, and it all started just before my 18th birthday. I saw an advertisement for this car; it had a 1.4-litre engine and had been garaged for over ten years. I decided to buy the Peugeot, and it’s been up north and down south. The 205 has had its up and downs, but it always got me home.
Unfortunately, one day the motor blew up, but Aidan, who is studying engineering at college, was not deterred - “I decided to do the Mi16 conversion”. This, of course, was the famed 160 bhp powerplant also used by the Peugeot 405 and the Citroen BX 16v:
Not knowing too much about them or even where to start, I spent weeks digging and digging for information and found the best way for it. It was hard work, especially with this being my first big project and having minimal to no knowledge of these cars originally.
The conversion took Aidan five and a half months, and the result looks as though it belongs in an early 1990s Peugeot dealership. As he puts it:
I built this car because I want to rebuild the community and show people that you don’t throw away cars. They have life left and a history of where the automotive industry has been and is now going.
Looking at the Sanderson 205 now is to be mildly shocked at how remote the 1980s and 1990s seem. When K 434 PLH left the factory, John Major was Prime Minister and ‘the internet’ was still science-fiction to many people. In fact, Peugeot initiated ‘Projet M24’ as long ago as 1977, with UK sales commencing in September 1983.
More importantly, the yellow Peugeot further proves that the future of classic cars is in safe hands. Enthusiasts such as Aidan are helping preserve and enjoy automotive heritage. His aim was “to show people that you don’t have to have all the money in the world or all the knowledge or even fancy equipment; it’s possible to build your dream car”.
We could not agree more.
With Thanks To: Aidan Sanderson