1987 Peugeot 309 GTi 16V Group A

Offered by Iconic Auctioneers | Stoneleigh Park, U.K. | February 2024

The 309 was a boxy, boring small three- or five-door hatchback sold by Peugeot between 1985 and 1994. The French have a long history of making the most of boring cars, and Peugeot did that here, selling a GTi version, which was a hot-ish hatch.

The road car shared its powertrain with the 205 GTi, one of France’s best hot hatches. It had a 1.9-liter inline-four making 158 horsepower. Not bad. This car was built in 1988 as a Group A rally car for the British Rally Championship. Peugeot then ran the car themselves for 1989 and 1990.

Come 1991, the Peugeot team boss wanted to showcase a young driver, future WRC champion Richard Burns, and entered him in the WRC RAC Rally, where he and his co-driver finished 16th as the top two-wheel-drive car.

The car remained in storage with Peugeot until 1998, at which point it was sold to a privateer. Burns found out about the car and acquired it for his own collection. Now it’s being sold from said collection with an estimate of $88,000-$100,000. More info can be found here.

1934 BMW 309

Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | July 3, 2021

Photo – Dorotheum

Here’s another small car from BMW’s early era. The company launched the 303 in 1933. It was their first six-cylinder car and the first BMW with “kidney” grilles – two things the company continues to be known for. In 1934 they introduced the 309, which was essentially a 303 with two fewer cylinders. It was intended as a replacement for the 3/20.

The 309 is powered by an 845cc inline-four that made 22 horsepower when new. Rubber engine mounts were used to reduce vibration in the cabin, and the cars carried bodies from Ambi-Budd. You could choose from a two-door sedan (as shown here), a cabriolet, or a tourer.

Approximately 6,000 examples of the 309 were produced through 1936. This one has known history back only a few decades, and it was restored in Austria. Pre-war BMWs are rarely seen, and the fact that this was about as basic of an example as you could get in 1934 makes it even more impressive that it is still around. It should bring between $14,000-$22,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $22,336.