Tag Archives: Simca

Minivan SUV – Talbot Matra Rancho

Having established it’s sports car credentials with Simca on the collaborative Bagheera, Matra’s next joint effort with Simca was to build a front wheel drive off road version of the little 5 door Simca 1100 hatchback which became known as the Rancho.

Talbot Matra Rancho, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

The design used the front end of the front wheel drive Simca 1100 fourgonette van with an extended chassis on to which Matra’s fibreglass and polyester body, designed by Antonis Volanis, was grafted.

Talbot Matra Rancho, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Unusually the vehicle had three rows of seats not unlike later popular minivans, the interior was largely taken directly from the Simca 1100 parts bins including seats and instrumentation.

Talbot Matra Rancho, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

The car’s ground clearance was raised for off road use and an 80 hp 1.4 litre / 87.9 cui version of the Poissey engine shared with the Simca 1307 and Matra Bagheera models was fitted.

Talbot Matra Rancho, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

The Matra Simca was launched in 1977 and was rebranded Talbot Matra Rancho in 1979 after Peugeot merged Chrysler Europe’s brands into it’s portfolio, in all 57,792 Rancho’s were built with Minivan SUV, as seen here, detachable canvas and commercial van bodie styles until 1985 when the model was discontinued.

Talbot Matra Rancho, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Matra went on to develop a Minivan with three row’s of seats for it’s next concept which Peugeot turned down but Renault accepted with open arms leading Matra to becoming part of the Renault industrial complex and the launch of the Renault Espace in 1984.

Thanks for joining me on this “Minivan SUV” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Baby Urraco – Matra Simca Bagheera

After Matra entered an agreement with Chrysler Europe to distribute it’s Ford V4 powered 530 through the Simca dealer network in 1969 the two companies agreed to work on a new Chrysler Simca powered replacement which became the Matra Simca Bagheera which was launched in 1973.

Matra Simca Bagheera,  Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

Designed by Antonis Volanis the Bagheera, named after Rudyard Kiplings panther character in The Jungle Book, retained the mid engine layout of it’s 530 and Djet antecedents, but unusually featured three seats abreast in the cockpit.

Matra Simca Bagheera,  Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

Originally the Bagheera was powered by an 84 hp 1294 cc / 78.9 cui 4 cylinder engine, sourced from the Simca 1100 TI 5 door hatchback, which gave the car a top speed of 101 mph, in 1975 a Bagheera S with a 90 bhp version of the Simca 1308 1442cc / 87.9 cui engine raised the top speed up to 109 mph. Three prototype Bagheera’s were built with two transverse engines driving a common prop shaft to make a U configuration, as seen on the Bugatti T45, but never got beyond the evaluation stage

Matra Simca Bagheera,  Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

British motoring LJK Streight was so impressed with the Bagheera when he tested it that he likened it to a “baby Lamborghini Urraco”, the only downside to the model was that the steel chassis beneath the fibre glass body had no rust protection and was prone to rot.

Matra Simca Bagheera,  Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

The Bagheera’s body was updated in 1976 and the interior in 1978, the model seen here at the Classic Motor Show was built in 1979, in July 1979 the model was rebranded as a Talbot Matra Bagheera, and was first registered in the UK in April 1984.

In all 47,802 Bagheeras were built between 1973 and 1980 when the model was replaced by the Talbot Matra Murena a model I shall be looking at next Tuesday.

Thanks for joining me on this “Baby Urraco” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting the Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Voiture Des Copains – Matra Simca 530LX

In 1967 Matra replaced it’s René Bonnet inspired Djet model with the 530 an all new mid engined 2+2 deigned by Philippe Guédon who had previously worked for Simca.

Conceived as the car for buddies, Voiture Des Copains, the 2+2 with pop up lights and a targa top was powered by a German sourced 70hp V4 Ford accessed by through the rear window.

While the engines and drive train were built in Germany the steel back bone chassis were built by Carrier in Alençon, Normandy and assembly was completed 150 miles away by French coach builder Brissonneau et Lotz at Creil in Picardy.

Matra Simca 530LX

In 1969 the 530 was upgraded with the engine now producing 75hp and a deal was done with Chrysler Europe to distribute the Ford powered cars through their Simca network from 1970 and to work on a joint replacement.

Production of all but the motor and drive train for the 530 was also brought together under the single roof of the Matra Automobiles facility at Romorantin in the Loire Valley around this time.

Giovanni Michelotti was responsible for minor styling upgrades to the 530 which became the 530LX in 1970 these included replacing the acrylic glass removable rear window with a glass hatch held open with gas struts and the removal of a nudge bar from the front bumper.

Matra Simca 530LX

These 530LX ads found in the French journal “Connaissance des arts” date from March and May 1971 respectively five months before the introduction of the budget black bumper, orange or white only 530SX which had the targa top and pop up headlights deleted.

The under powered 530’s competitors included the Lotus Elan +2 and Porsche 912 which were both more expensive and the cheaper MG B GT.

9,609 530s, 2,062 530As, 4,731 530LXs and 1,146 530SX’s were built by the time production ceased in 1973.

Thanks for joining me on this “Voiture Des Copains” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Swiss Hill Climb Champion – Abarth Simca 2Mila Corsa #0051

Keen to promote a sporting image Simca turned to renowned Fiat tuner and racing car manufacturer Carlo Abarth to help them achieve their goal in the early 1960’s.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Alongside his work producing performance tuning parts for Simca Abarth developed the 140mph Abarth Simca 1300GT based on Simca 1000 running gear in 1962 which won it’s class in the 1964 World Manufacturers’ Championship for sports cars with drivers Tom Fleming, Otto Linton, James Diaz, Pietro Laureati, Secondo Ridolfi, Hans Herrmann, Fritz Jüttner, Hans-Dieter Dechent, Denis Borel, Ernst Furtmayr, Klaus Steinmetz, Herbert Demetz and Anton Fischhaber all contributing to the manufacturers win.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

1964 Abarth also started racing the 2 litre / 122 cui 2Mila that was powered by a motor producing around 200hp, unfortunately the transmission could not cope with the power in the longer races and only Hans Herman recorded a class win in the 1964 World Manufacturers’ Championship for sports cars in the IV. Coppa di Citta Enna while leaving Porsche to win the 2 litre class from Alfa Romeo.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

In shorter non championship events and hillclimbs the 2Mila recorded at least 9 further victories and 3 additional class wins up until 1966 by which time the project had been abandoned by Abarth after Simca was merged into Chrysler Europe.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

The remaining known overall and class spoils for the model were divided between Eberhard Mahle, Franco Patria 6, Kurt Ahrens Jr, Jochen Rindt 2, Jody Porter and Herbert Demetz.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Today’s featured chassis #0051 was bought new by Dr Hans Kuhnis who won the 1965 Swiss GT Championship with it, allegedly Dr Kuhnis had his wife harrang Abarth on the Monday after every event to ensure he had the latest parts in time for the following event.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Middle Barton Garage undertook a restoration of #0051 in 2006, fitting gear ratio’s that give the car a top speed of 155mph for it’s owner.

Thanks for joining me on this “Swiss Hill Climb Champion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Noisy Terror From Poissy – Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77

SRT the Simca Racing Team was founded in 1972 to “To restore the joy of young people participating in motorsport” for owners and fans of the Simca 1000 chaired by Daniel Cébile the club grew to have 4,000 members with in two years.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Part of the clubs programme was to encourage members to compete in motorsports events with their vehicles in a variety of disciplines, unlike most manufacturer supported programmes of a similar nature it was not designed to manufacture professional drivers more to provide young drivers a framework within which to compete.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 is the ultimate evolution of the Simca 1000 Rallye 2 which was a non street legal kit made available in 1977, the year before production of the entire Simca 1000 range was brought to a halt.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

It comprised engine modifications which boosted the power output from 84hp of the standard Rallye 2 to 110hp including a noisy exhaust.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Front and rear spoilers were also augmented by plastic wheel arches which enabled the fitting of wider tyres that included slicks for track applications.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 Kit allowed Rallye 2 owners to move up from the production orientated Group 1 to the more racing orientated Group 2 class, perhaps the greatest exponent of the SRT ’77 was German Ernst Thierfelder who drove his SRT ’77 to victory in the first VLN championship, Langstreckenmeisterschaft, at the Nurbürgring in 1977.

The road registered SRT ’77 in these photographs was seen at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Noisy Terror From Poissy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when we will be visiting the Niello Concours at Serrano. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Terror Of Poissy – Simca 1000 Rallye 2

Afrer a varied career, that started aged just 14 when his father disappeared, that included running the family transport business, selling war surplus motorcycles, experience in the coal import business and founding a business importing scrap steel from France to be recycled into FIAT’s in Italy Henri Théodore Pigozzi was appointed as FIAT’s man in France responsible for the distribution of, and later assembly of, FIAT’s for the French market aged just 28.

Henri founded Société Anonyme Français des Automobiles FIAT (SAFAF) to handle the work and purchased premises formerly used by Donnet to establish manufacturing operations in 1934 for a new entity the Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile (SIMCA) of which FIAT was the major share holder.

The “Simca Mille” was primarily designed by a team headed by Dante Giacosa and was chosen with FIAT’s blessing by Henri from a variety of four door concepts FIAT were exploring to expand the FIAT 500 and 600 series range into the up to 1 litre / 61.5 cui market segment.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Former GM employee Mario Revelli de Beaumont and Felice Mario Boano were responsible for developing the Simca 1000 to production readiness in time for it’s launch in 1961, by which time FIAT had given up on the idea of launching it’s own four door model electing instead to go with another two door vehicle the FIAT 850 which was launched in 1964.

The Simca Mille remained in production until 1978 by which times variants had been built in France, Spain, Colombia and Morroco with 4 cylinder engines in the boot / trunk varying from 777cc / 47 cui to 1294 cui / 79 cui which were sold at a rate of over 100,000 a year up until 1974 with over 2 million examples built by 1978.

FIAT tuner Abarth started producing modified versions of the Simca Mille but they never went into regular production after SIMCA first bought Ford’s French interests and then itself came under the control of Chrysler’s European arm, however Simca started offering the 53hp, red only, Simca 1000 Rallye in 1970, which became known as the The terror from Poissy, where it was built, to fill the rear engine rear wheel drive gap left by the popular Renault 8 Gordini that was replaced by the front engine front wheel drive Renault 12 Gordini.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2, Frank Breidenstein, Oulton Park,

The next evolution of the Mille was the 60hp Rallye 1 which had a top speed of 96mph that was launched in 1972, today’s featured model the twin carburetor 82 hp Rallye 2 was built alongside the Rallye 1 and had a top speed of 100 mph and was the first Rallye to be fitted with 4 discs brakes as standard.

The Rallye 2 was used in touring car racing from 1973 to 1981 particularly in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain and Germany during which time it recorded at least 11 class (1.3 litre / 79.3 cui) victories.

The #31 Rallye 2 seen in these photographs is driven by Daniel Burrows while I believe President of ”Simca Heckmotor (rear engine) Deutschland, Frank Breidenstein is seen at the wheel of the #131 during a track day at Oulton Park a few years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Terror Of Poissy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a Concours d’Elegance edition of Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Détails Français – Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

Among the 1,700 cars on display at the recent Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham was a wonderful selection of storied French vehicles a hand full details from which are featured below.

Bugatti T37, Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham

Above the brass tail light above graces the back of the 1926 Bugatti Type 37 driven by Phillipe Auber to victory in the 1927 Picarde Grand Prix.

Peugeot 202 Commerciale, Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham

This 1940 Peugeot 202 Commerciale was used by a French off license, alcohol retailer, from 1947 to 1991 when it was sold to the present owners family.

Alpine A220, Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham

In 1968 Alpine and Gordini founders Jean Rédélé and Amédée Gordini concocted a 3 litre / 183 cui V8 with four overhead cams by using two 1500 cc 4 cylinder Renault derived blocks as used in the Alpine A110 and A210 competition cars. The V8 was fitted to the new A220 prototype racing cars of which the one seen here was the second built and the only one later modified and registered for road use with a short tale.

Citroen DS Decopotable, Classic Motor Show NEC,

Last week I looked at a Henri Chapron bodied Delahaye, above is the rear indicator on one of his later, Citroen DS Decopotable’s built in 1969.

Simca Rallye 2 Coupé SRT 77, Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham

Any US Mopar fan will recognise SRT as standing for Street and Racing Technology, not so many may know that these initials were used by Chrysler Frances Simca brand in the 1970’s for the Simca Racing Team founded in 1972 for entry level competition alongside the successful Chrysler France backed Matra Simca Le Mans programme. In 1977 a Coupe SRT 77 non street legal competition kit was offered for their rear engined Simca Rallye 2 which boasted the power to 110 hp and top speed to over 100 mph.

Citroen Dyane Special, Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham

Finally above is the interior of a converted Citroen Dyane Special, known as the HJS complete with what appears to be a highly polished aluminium towing hook.

Thanks for joining me on this “Détails Français” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l Psycho On Tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be making a final visit to this years Classic Motor Show. Don’t forget to come back now !

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