In 1982, motor racing federation FIA decided to create a new rally class. This so-called “Group B” class was a competition in which there were hardly any rules. The only hard requirement was that manufacturers had to build at least 200 street cars from their competitive model. This new rally class caught the attention of many car manufacturers because the regulations offered the opportunity to maximize their technical knowledge. The result was a period of exotic, super-fast cars with rear or four-wheel drive that were as fast on gravel as a Formula 1 car on asphalt. From Lada to Ferrari, every manufacturer entered the Group B standings and one of the manufacturers was Peugeot.
Peugeot pumped and pimped their existing retail car model 205, and released it as model 205 T16. The rally edition was successful, winning two world titles until the Group B races were terminated following two lethal accidents in 1987. The same design was also used for the 405 Turbo 16.
“Turbo” with an uppercase T. See more images of the steering wheel and the dashboard (not in Traffic).
Source: www.flickr.comTobias Hartmann. License: All Rights Reserved.
This close-up shows that Traffic is used in modified form: Most glyphs were made a little wider and the arch in r heavier. 5 does without bridge, t got a tail and a slash, and b lost its spur. See the original letterforms for comparison.
Source: www.flickr.combenoits15. License: All Rights Reserved.
Source: www.flickr.comSkylark92. License: All Rights Reserved.
This plate uses standard Traffic, see t (no tail), r (thin hairline), b (with spur).
Source: eclecticwall.comPeter Aspeslagh / Eclectic Wall. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Matchbox model car references the lettering based on Traffic, too, on the side as well as on the rear. 5 is again a little different. See more images at the Matchbox University.
In 2016, the rally model of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 was made available for use in Grand Theft Auto 5 (the game). It is described as “perfect for racing, but can also serve for ordinary travel in the city or suburbs. Texture is well developed and the model looks very nice in the light of the sun.”
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See also the post about Autodromo’s Group B watches. The logo directly references the lettering from Peugeot’s rally cars.