Simca Ariane

Last updated
Simca Ariane
Simca Ariane, Schaffen Diest Fly-Drive 2013.JPG
Overview
Manufacturer Simca
Also calledSimca Miramas
Production1957–1963
Body and chassis
Class Large family car
Body style 4-door saloon
Layout FR layout
Related Ford Vedette
Simca Vedette
Simca / Chrysler Esplanada
Powertrain
Engine 1.3 L Flash I4
(1957 - 1963)
2.4 L Aquillon V8
(1958 - 1961)
Transmission 4-speed manual. Synchromesh on top 3 ratios [1]
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,690 mm (105.9 in) [1]
Length4,500 mm (177.2 in) [1]
Width1,750 mm (68.9 in) [1]
Height1,480 mm (58.3 in) [1]
Chronology
Successor Simca 1300/1500
Simca Ariane, rear view. The increased height of the fins incorporating the tail-light clusters identify this example as a car produced during or after 1959. Simca ariane back.jpg
Simca Ariane, rear view. The increased height of the fins incorporating the tail-light clusters identify this example as a car produced during or after 1959.

The Simca Ariane is a large saloon car launched in April 1957 by the French automaker Simca and manufactured in the company's factory at Poissy until 1963.

Contents

Origins

The plant at Poissy had been built by Ford France between 1937 and 1940, but after the war the economic direction of France was uncertain. Ford had equipped the plant to produce the V8 engined Ford Vedette but the government was imposing punitive levels of car tax on cars with large engines and sales fell well short of expectations. In addition, the Poissy plant experienced above average levels of industrial unrest. Simca purchased the plant from Ford in 1954, together with rights to build the latest version of the car produced in it, which now became the Simca Vedette, relaunched by Simca with different model names according to equipment levels.

The Simca Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth, and enjoyed moderate success with their fashionably American style finished off by an Italian designer called Rapi. In 1954 the big Simcas competed in France against the Citroën Traction which was still popular despite its twenty-year-old design and the Renault Frégate which struggled to find buyers thanks to a poor mechanical reputation and, it was suggested, from the reluctance of France's haute-bourgeoisie to buy a big expensive car from a state owned enterprise.

The Suez Crisis of October 1956 was a catalyst that undermined the position of the V8 Simcas, however, due to the fuel shortages and price increases that it triggered. By this time domestic competition was in any case much intensified by the arrival of the Citroen DS which, despite getting off to a slow start, and despite being stuck with an engine design that had changed little since the 1930s, now became increasingly dominant in France's market for large family cars.

It was often asserted that the Simca Ariane's launch was a direct result of the Suez Crisis, but it is now clear that by 1956 Simca's project for a big car with a little engine ("une grande voiture à petit moteur") had already existed for several years. The urgency of the project was increased in the summer of 1956 when the Simca chief learned of a dastardly plan by Paul Ramadier, the Minister for Economy and Finance, and a still influential former prime minister, to introduce in December 1956 an additional savage annual car tax for owners of cars with larger engines. [2] The Suez crisis simply built on the economic case for a small engined version of the car, and Simca was therefore ready to respond very nimbly to the changed circumstances created by the crisis, fitting a 1290cc "Flash" series engine from their successful small family car, the Aronde, into the most basic version of their V8 engined Simca Trianon, which was one of the models in the Vedette range. The new car was badged as the "Simca Ariane" and was soon available in several versions.

The car

Fitting the body of the former first-generation Simca Vedette with a 1290 cc (7 CV) Flash four cylinder engine from the much smaller Simca Aronde produced a car that focused on economy rather than speedy acceleration. Presented in April 1957, the Ariane filled the gap between Aronde and Vedette. In October of the same year, the Ariane 8 was presented - a version powered by the same Aquillon 2351 cc (13CV) V8 unit that powered the Vedette. The Ariane 8 effectively replaced the former Simca Trianon, which was a bottom-of-the-range Vedette, as the Vedette range was moved upmarket. The Ariane 8 would be discontinued along with the company's other V8 powered models in 1961, however.

For the 1959 model year the company introduced an Ariane Super Luxe with increased levels of chrome trim on the outside as well as vanity mirrors on the inside and a windscreen washer to help the view out. All the Arianes also received restyled tail light clusters at this point which resembled those already used on the more flamboyantly styled but broadly similar Vedette models. Further upgrades to the interior trim were implemented for 1961, and newly available options included bench seats that could now be folded flat to form a double bed of sorts. [2] There followed yet another new name: for the final two years of its life the Ariane was branded as the Simca Miramas. [1]

Commercial

The Ariane was manufactured until 1963, with 166,363 produced. [3] [4] Towards the end, production slowed strikingly. 33,733 Arianes were produced in 1961, which slumped to just 14,284 during 1962. [1] By this time attention at the company's Poissy plant had switched to the new Simca 1000. The most direct replacement for the Simca Ariane/Miramas would be the Simca 1300/1500, introduced in 1963.

Argentina

The Ariane Miramas, were made in Argentina by Metalmecánica. Approx. 507 units built until 1967 in two versions: "Std" and "Lujo".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simca</span> Automobile company

Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bought Ford's French subsidiary, became increasingly controlled by Chrysler. In 1970, Simca became a brand of Chrysler's European business, ending its period as an independent company. Simca disappeared in 1978, when Chrysler divested its European operations to another French automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroën. PSA replaced the Simca brand with Talbot after a short period when some models were badged as Simca-Talbots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathis (automobile)</span>

Mathis S.A. was an automobile manufacturer in Alsace that produced cars between 1910 and 1950. Founder Émile Mathis (1880–1956) was born in Strasbourg and died in Geneva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matford</span> Defunct French car and truck manufacturer

Matford was a French automotive manufacturer established as a joint venture in 1934 by local firm Mathis and US-based Ford Motor Company. The name Matford derived from both companies' names. The company ceased activities in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot-Lago</span> Automobile manufacturer (1920–1959)

Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside Paris. The company was owned and managed by Antonio Lago, an Italian engineer that acquired rights to the Talbot brand name after the demise of Darracq London's subsidiary Automobiles Talbot France in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peugeot 203</span> Motor vehicle

The Peugeot 203 is a small family car which was produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1948 and 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Comète</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford Comète is a car that was built between 1951 and 1954 in France by Ford SAF. Intended as the luxury model in the range, the Comète's bodywork was built by FACEL, who later produced the better-known Facel Vega luxury cars under their own name. The original engine was a 2.2 L V8 produced by Ford SAF of French design, also used in the Ford Vedette, with a Pont-à-Mousson 4-speed manual transmission fitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault Juvaquatre</span> Motor vehicle

The Renault Juvaquatre is a small family car / compact car automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1937 and 1960, although production stopped or slowed to a trickle during the war years. The Juvaquatre was produced as a sedan/saloon until 1948 when the plant switched its full attention to the new Renault 4CV. During the second half of 1952 the plant restarted production of the Juvaquatre sedans/saloons for a period of approximately five months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault Frégate</span> Motor vehicle

The Renault Frégate is an executive saloon car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1951 and 1960. Estate variants, the Renault Domaine and the Renault Manoir, were introduced in 1956 and 1958 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simca Vedette</span> 1950s–1960s French car

The Simca Vedette is an executive car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by French automaker Simca, at 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simca 1000</span> Motor vehicle

The Simca 1000, or Simca Mille in French, is a small, boxy rear-engined four-door saloon, manufactured for 18 years by French automaker Simca, from 1961 to 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Vedette</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford Vedette is a large car formerly manufactured by Ford SAF in their Poissy plant from 1948-1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford SAF</span>

Ford France is the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simca Aronde</span> Motor vehicle

The Simca Aronde is an automobile which was manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1951 to 1964. It was Simca's first original design, as well as the company's first unibody car. "Aronde" means "swallow" in Old French and it was chosen as the name for the model because Simca's logo at that time was a stylized swallow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simca 8</span> Motor vehicle

The Simca 8 is a small family car built by Simca and sold in France between November 1937 and 1951, available as a saloon, coupé or cabriolet. It was a rebadged Fiat 508C "nuova Balilla" made at Fiat's Simca plant in Nanterre, France.

The Stellantis Poissy plant is a French car plant belonging to Stellantis located in Poissy, Yvelines. It is dedicated to the manufacturer's Platform 1 cars, which are cars in the subcompact class, with an annual output of approximately 200,000 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Lago Record</span> Motor vehicle

The Talbot Lago-Record Type T26 was a large, six-cylinder executive car launched by the French Talbot company in 1946. In the context of the company's protracted financial collapse, the last T26s were probably those produced during 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Lago Sport</span> Motor vehicle

The Talbot-Lago Sport was a coupé-bodied sports car introduced by the manufacturer in May 1955. It was Talbot-Lago's last production model, and only 54 were built. After a couple of years the Talbot-designed engine was replaced with a BMW unit and the car was rebranded as the Talbot-Lago America.

Paul-Marie Pons was a French naval engineer who became a senior civil servant. He is remembered for the Pons Plan which restructured the French automotive industry in the second half of the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Vendôme</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford Vendôme is a large car that was manufactured by Ford SAF at their plant in Poissy, France, from 1953 until 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault Vivasport</span> Motor vehicle


The Renault Vivasport was a 6-cylinder engined executive automobile introduced by Renault in September 1933 and produced till April 1935. A larger engined version was produced between December 1934 and February 1938. As with many Renaults during the 1930s, type changes as well as small often cosmetic facelifts and upgrades appeared frequently.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1962 (salon Paris oct 1961). 19. Paris: Histoire & collections: Page 63. 2001.
  2. 1 2 "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1959 (salon Paris Oct 1958). 21. Paris: Histoire & collections: Page 71. 2002.
  3. Bellu, René. Toutes les Simca. Le Conquet: Studio Gernot.(published and distributed privately, no ISBN)
  4. "SIMCA VEDETTE and SIMCA ARIANE". Simca Talbot Information Centre Simca Club UK. Retrieved 2006-08-12.