When your mind goes to armored vehicles, you tend to
think of heavy luxury limos, SUVs, or perhaps even army vehicles. Certainly not
a classic Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9. This is the story of one really special car,
built to carry its famous owner in anonymity and obviously extreme safety.
The Peugeot 205 GTI you see pictured was ordered new
in 1990 by Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH (that’s LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis
Vuitton SE for you), the world’s largest luxury goods company. Mr. Arnault
wanted a car he could drive anonymously on a daily basis without a chauffeur,
so he ordered specialist company Labbé to fit the small French hot hatch with
proper Level 2 armoring.
The car was completely dismantled and was fitted
with thick sheet metal panels and windows and had its suspension and brakes
upgraded to cope with the extra weight, which by the way now is 1,400 kg instead of the 875 kg of a standard 205 GTI 1.9. The cabin
was reupholstered with leather and received air-conditioning and power
steering.
The build quality is described to be as ‘absolutely
amazing’ and that very few would notice that this is no ordinary 205 GTI. Mr.
Arnault used it as a daily driver for some years before it was put in storage
in his personal collection.
This rather special car is now offered for sale from
Art & Revs in Luxemburg, showing 14,700 km on the odometer and
representing a unique opportunity for someone to get his hands on one of the
most unique Peugeot 205 GTIs out there.
