‘ 205 customers have been so enamoured with Tolman’ s work, they’ ve entrusted the Warwickshire company with other cars’
The Peugeot 205 GTi Tolman Edition has transformed the company into what it is today
Tolman builds cars so they are better than they were from the factory, and is subtle about its alterations
‘ 205 customers have been so enamoured with Tolman’ s work, they’ ve entrusted the Warwickshire company with other cars’
I head upstairs to Chris Tolman’ s office. He’ s the boss, an ex-military, ex-rally and touring car engineer and owner of Tolman. He tries to explain what’ s changed since my last visit, but we soon realise the best thing is to show me what’ s different. Back to the presence of the ultra-rare homologation specials downstairs, then.
The floors are covered in tough plastic tiles. Clean, neat and, as I know from experience, much nicer to roll around on than concrete or tiles. The presence of the T16 and Sierra, amongst others, highlights that this is the area where the off-piste projects go. There’ s a more formal build area for the assembly of the 205s in another building, it’ s something as close to a production line as a room could get for building bespoke restomods.
The 205 assembly room isn’ t massive, with two bays and a pair of two-post ramps. While there might be space for four cars, there are just three present today. There’ s space to meander around each car, but no individual or team is going to be able to cocoon themselves off and work away in their own world. Instead, the relatively close proximity of each car, I can imagine, helps generate a healthy conversation in the space and a sharing of information.
Summer 2025 The Engine Rebuilder 51