Sporty 405's

This page is dedicated to the Sports versions of the 405, namely the Mi-16, Mi-16 x4, Le-mans and Turbo16.

Mi-16, Mi-16 4x4 and Le-mans

The 405 Mi-16 was renowned for its class leading handling and chassis. Indeed, today it is still has levels of grip and agility that put far more modern designs to shame. The 405 16 valve engines in both 1.9 and 2.0 form were maybe a little tame when comparing them against some of the oposition. Ok, so the 405 may not have been the quickest sports saloon, but it has one of the most well balanced performance and handling blend that only a handful of other cars have matched to date (some of which are other Peugeot's may I add).

The Mi-16 first appeared on the UK market in the summer of 1988, as a 1.9 16V engine producing 160bhp. With a 0-60 of around 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 136 mph the 405 at last had an engine which could match the dynamic chassis.

In October 89 the 4x4 version was launched, pushing the level of grip and poise beyond what was already class leading. Performance was down slightly with the added transmission, as the same 160bhp engine was utilised unchanged. The rear suspension was a hydraulic self-leveling system which produced practically zero body roll when cornering.

From April 1992, both versions came with air-con as standard and full leather trim. In October 92 both cars were discontinued in this form, the Mi-16 was to relaunched with the new 2.0 155bhp 16 valve engine.

In December 1992 the Mi-16 was back in phase II form (new interior, dash, strengthend body), but only in Front Wheel Drive format. It now came with a more refined 2.0 16 Valve engine producing 155bhp. It was not a fast as the 1.9 unit, with a 0-60 in around 9.8 secs and a top speed of 133 mph. A sign of the times - catalytic convertors, heavier car, just took the edge off the performance. This was not the case in the Chassis department, and with the stiffer construction, the car was better than ever in this area.

In March 1994, the car became the 'Le Mans', with the car revamped inside. With new suede interior, the car felt more up market, but retained all its other attributes in the driving department. There are various different stories about numbered plaques being produced on these cars as if it was a 'limited edition'. Indeed, the car in later life was listed as a limited edition by Peugeot in the sales literature, before being phased out towards the end of 1994.

405 T-16

The T-16 is a very rare beast. Please see the dedicated page 'T16' on the menu for details on this car