Simca Vedette

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Simca Vedette
FR layout
RelatedFord Vedette
Simca Ariane
Simca Esplanada
Powertrain
Engine2.4 L Aquillon V8
Transmission3-speed manual
Rush-Matic automatic[3]
Chronology
PredecessorFord Vedette
SuccessorChrysler 160, 180, and 2 Litre

The Simca Vedette is an

their factory in Poissy, France. The Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth and enjoyed moderate success with its American style finished off by the Italian designer Rapi. It was marketed with different model names according to trim and equipment levels. The Vedette was Simca's largest model at that time, and it went on to spawn a more economical version, the Simca Ariane
.

Simca acquired the Poissy factory from Ford France (Ford Société Anonyme Française, the French subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company), along with the model line, in 1954. The Vedette was therefore initially still marketed as the Ford Vedette.

The Vedette was manufactured in

Poissy until 1961 and the Ariane until 1963. After that, production continued in Brazil until 1966, when the Vedette finally evolved into the Simca Esplanada[4] following Simca's takeover by Chrysler
.

Origins and launch

In the early 1950s,

Henri Théodore Pigozzi was looking to expand the manufacturing operations of his Simca company, which was enjoying much success at the time, thanks to the popular Aronde. At the same time, Ford was seeking to divest itself of its French subsidiary, Ford SAF, which had a factory in Poissy, close to Paris, where it had been manufacturing a large car called the Ford Vedette. The Poissy plant was large and there was capacity for further expansion. The Vedette was a larger car than anything that Simca had on offer at that time. These points attracted Pigozzi, who decided to take over the entire factory, along with the rights to the cars manufactured there.[5]

The cars appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1954 on the Ford France stand, but there was no mention of the Ford name on the covers of the brochures offered to potential customers.[6] The name "Ford" appeared just once, in very small print, on the final page, presumably in order to avoid confusing customers who would be expected to call the cars "Simcas" from 1 December 1954, the date set for the formal hand-over of the business.[6] In export markets the name change was less immediate, and even in adjacent Belgium, in January 1955 at the Brussels Motor Show the cars were still appearing on the stand of the Belgian Ford importer, sharing the space with models imported from Ford of Britain.[6]

First generation

First generation
Curb weight
1,150 kg (2,540 lb)[3]

The acquisition by Pigozzi took place in July 1954, just when Ford was poised to launch its new, modern Vedette,

live axle through a three-speed manual transmission with column shift. The Vedette had independent front suspension (by MacPherson struts) and drum brakes on all four wheels.[3]

As with the Aronde, Simca marketed different trim levels of the Vedette under different model names, this time with references to the grand period of baroque in French history. The basic version was called the Simca Vedette

moonroof that slid into the roof, called Vistadome[3] The Vedette range was still marketed under the Ford brand in some markets, including the Netherlands and Germany, until 1956.[8][9] As the new model caught on, Simca was able to increase production from the 150 daily achieved during Ford's ownership of the factory to 250 cars a day.[5]

Pigozzi maintained a schedule of year-to-year model revisions, much like US manufacturers. For 1956, an

windscreen washer, while other more ordinary changes included a second odometer, also known as a 'trip meter', for measuring partial distances. The Versailles and Régence were made even more comfortable with the addition of central armrests (Versailles in the rear only, Régence in front and rear), while the Trianon was simplified, losing bumper guards and chrome windscreen decor. In 1957, an option of the Gravina automatic clutch was added, along with better brakes and more direct steering. The Trianon regained the chrome decor around the windscreen, while the other models acquired slimmer tail lights and the front ornament was replaced with a new design. Fender-mounted V8 badges were introduced but, although the whole range featured the same V8 engine, the new badges appeared on the fenders of only the Régence and Marly.[3]

Production figures

Second generation

Second generation
Curb weight
1,260 kg (2,780 lb)[3]

After three years in production, the Vedettes were given new names and a new, elongated body, with a more ornate front end and large

Beaulieu and the Régence by the Chambord, while the estate retained the Vedette Marly name.[3]

The three-year-old body of the previous Vedette nevertheless continued in production but it lost its V8 2.4-litre engine. In April 1957, fitted with the 1.3 L Aronde engine, the old body now clothed a new model in the Simca range, the Simca Ariane.[5] Later, in October 1957, a V8 version of the old bodied car, with the Aquillon 84 engine, and badged as the Ariane 8, joined the range, replacing the Trianon.

1959 brought a new option, the Rush-Matic

convertibles for a governor of one of the French colonies. Chapron had another order the next year, to build two four-door convertibles for the French President Charles de Gaulle
. The Beaulieu was dropped in autumn 1960, but the other models remained unchanged until the 1961 model year, when they received new seats, new chrome decor, and the engine was fitted with a new anti-vibration crankshaft.

French production of the V8-engined cars ended in the summer of 1961, by which time 173,288 had been produced, although a Simca Chambord was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in October of that year, suggesting that Simca still had some stock of the cars to clear.[10] The small-engined 4-cylinder Ariane, of which 166,363 were produced, survived until 1963.[3][5]

Simca would not return to the luxury executive car market in Europe until 1970, when production of the Chrysler 160, 180, and 2 Litre started.[11]

Simca Vedette Marly

Production figures

  • 1958 – 28,142
  • 1959 – 15,966
  • 1960 – 13,914
  • 1961 – 3,813[3]

Models (Brazilian market)

Simca Chambord
Curb weight
1,260 kg (2,778 lb)[3]
Chronology
SuccessorSimca Esplanada

The model was continued for longer in

Alvorada, later renamed Profissional, as a base model, mainly marketed towards taxi drivers. There was also the Jangada station wagon, based on the Marly. The cars were eventually replaced by a version with new sheetmetal, called the Simca Esplanada
.

The Simca Chambord and its derivatives were built by Simca's Brazilian subsidiary,

Simca Profissional
.

Throughout the 1960s, Simca do Brasil gradually introduced parts produced by local OEM parts suppliers. In 1961, the Chambord received an improved engine with 90 hp (67 kW) and 15% more torque, a slightly shorter differential. 98% of the parts were of Brazilian production. A special version, called the Tufão (whirlwind) featured some additional luxury items in its interior.

Simca Tufão 1966

42,910 units of the Chambord were built up to 1966, and the engine output gradually rose to 120 hp (89 kW). These more powerful Chambords had an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 14.3 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).

In November 1966 Simca introduced the Esplanada at the Salão do Automóvel, Brazil's sole motor show, as a replacement for the Chambord.

Alvorada – a name with a vengeance

The Simca Alvorada was a radically stripped-down version based on the posh

Juscelino Kubitcheck that every car manufacturer must offer an affordable basic version within their range. The idea was to give as many Brazilians as possible the possibility to own a car. The concept of a very basic version of the Simca Vedette had been previously attempted in Simca's home country France, with the Simca Ariane
.

While this was welcome news for Volkswagen, for example, Simca do Brasil was not exactly pleased with the idea as the brand had established itself comfortably in the luxury car sector, in a way that Simca back in Europe never managed. Having had no plans to launch a cheap car, with no other options available, Simca do Brasil reluctantly created an entry-level version of their successful Simca Chambord.

The Simca Alvorada appeared in 1963 with just two colours as option (grey and a faded yellow), no chrome, no trimmings, and a very simple interior. As a silent protest the car was named after the place the order to create this model came from: The

Brasilia
. The spartan car found very few takers, in spite of its lowered price, with only 378 examples built in the two years it was available.

Simca Profissional

The Simca Profissional succeeded the Simca Alvorada in 1965. That year, the Brazilian government created a new public financing tool through its publicly owned bank

taxicab
drivers.

The Simca Profissional thus appeared in 1965 with three colour options (yellow, green and cream white), no chrome (even the bumpers were painted in dark gray, no trimmings), the already very simple interior of the Alvorada was downgraded further with plastic seat covers, the door covers were dark, untrimmed cardboard screwed onto the metal. But the Profissional was 30 percent cheaper than its far posher brother, the all chrome and leather

Simca Chambord
. The Profissional was discontinued in 1966, as the Chambord range was replaced by the new Esplanada.

Production (Brazil)

  • Chambord – 42,910 (includes Profissional)
  • Présidence – 848
  • Rallye – 3,992
  • Jangada – 2,705
  • Alvorada – 378

Total: 50,833

Australian production

Following an announcement in July 1959 that it would assemble and market Simca models in

Chrysler Australia produced the Vedette Beaulieu through to 1962, using both fully imported and locally sourced components.[14]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simca Vedette.

References

  1. ^ "Simca Vedette 1st genaration specifications: versions & types". www.automobile-catalog.com.
  2. ^ "Simca Vedette 2nd genaration specifications: versions & types". www.automobile-catalog.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Bellu, René. Toutes les Simca. Le Conquet: Studio Gernot. (published and distributed privately, no ISBN)
  4. ^ a b "Les SIMCA Vedette" [The Simca Vedettes]. Club Simca France (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-03-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e "SIMCA VEDETTE and SIMCA ARIANE". Simca Talbot Information Centre – Simca Club UK. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
  6. ^ a b c "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1955 (Salon 1954). 10. Paris: Histoire & collections: 31–35. 1999.
  7. ^ "Know Your Simca Vedette", Modern Motor, p. 70, May 1962
  8. ^ "Ford Vedette". Ford Oldtimer und Motorsport Club Cologne (in German). Retrieved 2006-08-16.
  9. ^ "Vedette (1955–1961)". Phil Seed's Virtual Car museum. Retrieved 2006-08-13.
  10. ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1962 (Salon Paris oct 1961). 19. Paris: Histoire & collections: 63. 2001.
  11. ^ "The cars : Chrysler 180 (C Car) development story". ARO Online. Keith Adams. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023. They were promoted as being 'an American from Paris', and had been known inside Chrysler France as the Simca 1800 project and replaced the Simca 1501 as well as taking the company back into the luxury sector for the first time since the Vedette went out of production a decade before.
  12. ^ "Simca (Brazil) Chambord-Jangada-Alvorada-Rallye-Presidence specifications: versions & types". www.automobile-catalog.com.
  13. ^ Now it's Chrysler-Simca, Australian Motor Sports, July 1959, page 271
  14. ^ Simca Car Club Australia Archived 2002-11-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 26 February 2010

External links

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