tommccabevRS

although a 205 is probably a lot more fun to drive, it still won't be as quick as a vRS lol. Old cars just have nothing whatsoever on newer engines.Back in the day if you had something like an escort RS turbo you had the fastest car on the block, nowadays even a remapped diesel putting out about 160 bhp will leave them for dead.
My reply to your first question, without spending a lot of money or an overhaul as you said, there is no way to get a decent gain out of your car I'm sorry to say