A reliable way of increasing the power of your 205 GTi is to swap the engine for a Mi16 (1905cc 16v) engine which generates 160bhp. The engine comes from either a 405 Mi16 or a Citroen BX16v, which is often the cheaper option of the two. Unfortunately these engines are quite rare, and difficult to get hold of and are not always very cheap, often around the £450 mark. You must get a 1.9 rather than a 2.0 litre version otherwise you end up with an iron block which is far too heavy.

To fit the engine into the 205, a few mods have to be done, and there are a few different approaches around, so I'll try and describe what I consider to be the best way. The engine must sit at the correct angle to ensure the driveshafts don't get worn out and the engine doesn't suffer from oil starvation. The trouble is at this angle, the exhaust and inlet manifolds don't fit properly. The inlet manifold can shortened by chopping an few cms out of it and welding it up, unless you decide to fit throttle bodies/carbs when this isn't needed. A custom exhaust manifold is the best way to solve the exhaust problem, and these are available from some Pug tuning specialists. Everything else mechanical is pretty straightfoward, stick to the orignal 205 gearbox (1.9 has a longer 1st gear than the 1.6), and you'll need a K&N style induction kit as the original airfilter box probably won't fit.

As for the electrics you can either stick with the 205's loom, which requires a modified distributor and uses the existing 205 ECU, this is the set-up I have; and it probably easier to fit. But I would recommend using the Mi16 wiring and ECU, as the engine will be running with the correct timing and fueling, something I aim to change on mine.

So what does it go like? Being a 16v engine the power comes on higher up the rev-range. You'll notice it starts coming on at 4000rpm, and the engine really starts to fly and keeps going right up to the rev-limite
r. You really notice all this extra power when the revs are going, it is very addictive, and the engine feels great up there. You will also notice the engine is generally smoother across the whole rev-range than the 8v unit.

I reckon its probably a more reliable unit than the 8v lump as well, they don't tend to suffer from the valve seal failure as much, and tend to be more robust. Needless to say, keep the oil changed and look after it as you would any engine. The spark plugs need changing quite often too.

The Mi16 engine can also be tuned quite a lot too. With throttle bodies, a bit of head work and cams, 200bhp is easy to get.

If you are fitting it yourself then it is a good value way of getting 30bhp more and reliably. You could always pay someone else to do it all for you, and look to spend £1500 or so if you go this route, which might not appear as good value.

I am pleased I had it done for my car, it is certainly quicker and nicer to drive. The only downside, is that my engine recently died due to a oil leak (sump plug dribbling) and overheating (split hose) which caused something to wear out inside very rapidly :(