THE earliest Peugeot 505s built upon the virtues of the renown 504 that made it popular in rural Australia – high ground clearance, rear wheel drive, independent rear suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a torquey four-cylinder engine. The latter was the simple 70.5kW 2.0-litre overhead valve carburettor unit that was a development of the 1960s’ 404 unit. Mated to either a five-speed manual or three-speed ZF automatic gearbox, it powered the 505, 505 GR and later 505 SR models. From March ’81 a 50.4kW 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel 505 sedan replaced the 504 GLD in Peugeot’s local line-up, but that only lasted until the first turbocharged diesel marketed in Australia, the 59kW 2.3 505 SRD five-speed manual sedan appeared in mid-‘82. At the same time, the long-lived 505 wagon debuted. With its longer wheelbase and eight-seat capability, the 70.5kW 2.0 petrol-powered auto-only wagon eventually replaced the ageing 504 wagon. The 505 STi, a more sports-orientated sedan, supplemented the 505 GR during 1983. Its Renault-sourced 84.7kW 2.2-litre fuel-injected motor also powered 1984’s 505 Executive and its replacement, the 505 GTi from 1985, while the mildly revised 505 SR from early ’84 to ’86 was a re-badged GR. The flagship GTi Executive of ’85 added leather trim. Outwardly similar except for the new grille, bigger bumpers and larger taillight treatment on the sedans, the 505 Series II from early 1986 featured a redesigned dash and cabin, improved suspension and equipment levels and new model designations. The SR sedan gave way to the 70.7kW fuel-injected 2.0-litre SLi sedan and wagon, the 94kW 2.3-litre four-cylinder GTi replaced the STi and the 59kW SRD – now called “Turbodiesel” was now available with the three-speed auto. All models included climate control air-con. In early ’87 the Turbodiesel’s engine grew to 2.5 litres, increased to 70kW in output and gained more equipment and a new name: GTD. Later in 1987 there were revisions to the range – a four-speed auto arrived for the GTi sedan and the wagon gained a five-speed manual GTi variant. The 505 SLi disappeared in late ’88, while six months later so did the rest of the 505s bar the GTi wagon, following the release of the newer, smaller front-wheel drive 405 range. In August ’90 the 505 GTi wagon gave way to a model simply known as the “505 Wagon”, the model featured here. Lasting until August ’93, it featured an 87kW 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine, a four-speed automatic gearbox and eight-seat accommodation. This was the last of the old-school rear-wheel drive Peugeots...