Chrysler C6 (Europe)

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Simca 1307 GLS (1978)

Chrysler C6 is the internal designation of a mid-range sedan that Chrysler Europe developed in France and Great Britain and sold under various brands and model names from 1975. In continental European markets, the hatchbacks were initially called Simca 1307 , 1308 and 1309 , while in the British Isles they were sold as Chrysler Alpine ; in Spain the model name was finally Simca 150 . After the European Chrysler branches were taken over by the French PSA Group in 1979, the model names changed to Talbot 1510 or Talbot 150 (continental Europe) and Talbot Alpine (British Isles). In 1980 the Talbot Solara four-door notchback sedan supplemented the range. Unlike in Great Britain, the hatchback version of the C6 was initially very successful in France and southern Europe; In 1976 it was also voted Car of the Year in Europe . In the 1980s, however, sales collapsed. Production of the last versions ended in mid-1986.

History of origin

classification

Pentastar: Chrysler logo

The initiator of the C6 project was Chrysler Europe, the European subsidiary of the US automobile company Chrysler . It had its roots in the British Rootes Group , which Chrysler had fully taken over in 1967, and the French car manufacturer Simca , which has been part of Chrysler since 1958 and wholly owned since 1971. In the first few years, the model ranges of the French and British companies of Chrysler Europe (similar to Ford and Vauxhall / Opel) were completely separated; there were no synergies whatsoever. The Rootes brands Hillman , Humber , Singer and Sunbeam mainly covered the British and Irish markets with conservative rear-wheel drive models , while Simca served continental Europe with its front-wheel drive cars. Chrysler Europe's first car developed for all markets was the Chrysler 160/180/2 liter notchback sedan , which appeared in 1970 and was positioned in the upper mid-range.

In the middle class, too, the corporate models were clearly separated at the beginning of the 1970s. The now outdated Simca 1501 came from France , while the offshoots of the four-door Arrow were offered on the British market . Chrysler initiated the C6 project in 1972 initially only with the aim of developing a successor to the Simca 1501. On the other hand, it was intended from the start to sell the C6 in Great Britain as well. There it only replaced the Chrysler Hunter (1979) and Talbot Avenger (1981) with a delay of a few years .

development

Development of the C6 began in 1972. In the early planning phase, the ideas of the French and British locations were far apart. The British Chrysler plant envisioned the C6 as a revised version of the Hillman Avenger with rear-wheel drive, while Simca favored a modern five-door sedan with front-wheel drive. Initial considerations of producing both drive variants in parallel were ultimately abandoned in favor of the front-wheel drive concept for reasons of cost. The idea of ​​British engineers to convert the rear-wheel drive platform of the Hillman Avenger to front-wheel drive also remained unsuccessful. As a result, as with the 160/180/2 liter, the development work was split between the French and British plants. Simca developed the engineering of the C6 while the body design originated in the UK.

Development of the C6 was completed in the summer of 1975. It made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 1975 as Simca and six months later went on sale in the British Isles as Chrysler.

Model description

body

Original shape: British Chrysler Alpine (1977) with vinyl roof
Facelift: Talbot 1510 / Alpine from 1980

The C6 was designed as a hatchback sedan with a large tailgate. With the decision for this body shape, the Chrysler management corresponded to Simca's ideas and took into account that southern European customers have valued five-door cars for years. On the other hand, this contradicted the interests of British car buyers, who often preferred conventional notchback vehicles. A notchback version came only five years after the introduction of the C6.

design

The body design of the C6 was developed in the UK under the direction of former Rootes designer Roy Ax . The special features of the body include the thin vehicle pillars, which give the structure a light impression and enable above-average all-round visibility. In the C-pillar there is a triangular side window, the shape of which led the German press to view the C6 as a “doppelganger” of the VW Passat , which was designed in a similar way . The roof of the continental European versions is regularly painted in body color. The cars sold in Great Britain, on the other hand, could be ordered with a color-contrasting vinyl roof . The C6 is one of the first European cars to have the bumpers made entirely of plastic. They are not painted in the same color as the car, but either light gray or black. Contemporary testers thought the bumpers were "bulky".

Facelift

In 1980 the C6 appeared with a stylistically revised body. The body panels remained largely unchanged. The facelift mainly affected the design of the headlights and indicators, which were given a different inclination, as well as the rear lights. The bumpers have also been redesigned.

technology

Provided the technical basis: Simca 1100

The technology of the Simca 1307 was developed in France. There were few new solutions for cost reasons. From a technical point of view, the 1307 is an enlarged version of the Simca 1100 compact vehicle , from which the essential suspension parts, the engines and also the transmission have been taken over.

landing gear

The chassis of the C6 largely corresponds to that of the Simca 1100 presented in 1967. The wheels are individually suspended at the front and rear . Control arms and torsion bar springs are used on the front suspension, trailing arms and coil springs at the rear. There are stabilizers and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers at the front and rear.

Engines and power transmission

Three inline four-cylinder engines of different sizes from the so-called Simca-Poissy series are used, which are installed transversely at the front.

  • The smallest engine is the four-cylinder, factory-designated 6G1, with a displacement of 1294 cm³ (bore × stroke: 76.7 × 70 mm). It has an underneath camshaft and, with a simple carburettor (Solex 32 BISA) and regular petrol, produces 55 HP (40.5 kW), or higher compression with super petrol 68 HP.
  • The next largest engine is the version called 6Y2 with 1442 cm³ (bore × stroke: 76.7 × 78 mm). He is a DC-carburetor of Weber equipped. Depending on the version, the engine output is 75 HP (55 kW) or 85 HP (62 kW). The more powerful version of the 1.4 liter engine has a modified camshaft and larger valves.

Development steps

  • 1975: In August, the Simca 1307 GLS, 1307 S and 1308 GT models - with torsion bar suspension at the front - are introduced . The Simca Poissy engine (6G1) with 1294 cm³ (bore 76.7 × 70 mm) and an underneath camshaft, which is tilted at the front to protect the occupants, provides 55 or 60 hp with a simple carburetor (Solex 32 BISA) and regular gasoline, higher compression with premium gasoline 68 hp. With two double carburettors it delivers 82 hp at 6000 rpm to the hydraulically operated clutch. In the 1308 GT, the 6Y2 (76.7 × 78 mm stroke) 1442 cm³ engine with a DC carburetor ( Weber 36 DCNF ) develops 85 hp at 5600 rpm for a top speed of 165 km / h.
  • 1976: The 1307 was named Car of the Year 1976 in Europe .
  • 1977: Considerable commercial success with 1100 vehicles produced per day. Introduction of the 1308 GL and 1308 GLS. The 1307 S receives the convenient features of the 1308 GT with tinted glass, central locking, two electric window lifters, rev counter, digital quartz clock, tank reserve light, headlight cleaning, resettable trip meter, hedge wiper, wiper interval, etc.
  • 1978: The Simca 1309 with a (bore 80.6 × 78 mm) 1592 cm³ 6J engine completes the series. PSA Peugeot Citroën will take over Simca from the Chrysler Group this summer . As an externally visible sign of the takeover, PSA is reintroducing the old brand name Talbot , which the Simca models gradually received in the following years.
  • 1979: The 1309 SX with automatic transmission is presented. In summer, the series was replaced by the Talbot 1510 with a significantly modified body and slightly reduced aerodynamic drag ( drag coefficient (c w ) 0.39 instead of 0.41).
  • 1980: In April, the Talbot Solara is presented, a four-door notchback - sedan based on the 1510th
  • 1981: The series now includes: 1510 LS (1294 cm³, 68 PS), 1510 GL and 1510 GLS (1442 cm³, 85 PS), 1510 SX (1592 cm³, 88 PS, automatic transmission), Solara LS (1442 cm³, 70 PS ), Solara GL (1442 cm³, 85 PS), Solara GLS (1442 cm³, 85 PS, with 5-speed transmission) and Solara SX (1592 cm³, 88 PS with automatic or 5-speed transmission)
  • 1982: The Talbot 1510 SX with 90 hp is now also optionally available with a 5-speed gearbox and receives power steering.
  • 1984: Production of the 1510 ends in April. In the UK it is still sold as Talbot Alpine . In mid-1984 PSA decided to discontinue the Talbot brand.
  • 1985: The Solara undergoes a final revision. Production in France is discontinued, vehicles are only still being made from parts that have already been produced in Spain .
  • 1986: In June the Talbot brand is finally discontinued by PSA. The last Solara will be sold until the beginning of 1987.

production

In France, the 1307/1308 was successful from the start. In the course of the 1976 calendar year, the Simca plant in Poissy produced 218,216 cars from the series, and in 1977 258,195 vehicles were produced. In 1978, production of the 1307/1308 in France dropped to 155,875 cars, the following year only 112,966 cars were built. The introduction of the newly designed compact model Horizon is seen as the main reason for the decline in production .

The hatchback models at a glance

model code engine Cubic capacity
cm³ 		Power
hp at 1 / min 		Max. Torque
Nm at 1 / min 		Weight
(kg) 		Speed
V max in km / h 		Petrol consumption
(l / 100 km) 		Year of
production
Chrysler-Simca
1307 GLS S6MC1 3G2 1294 68/5600 105/2800 1,040 152 6.9 1975-79
1307 p S6MA1 3G2 1294 82/6000 107/3000 1,070 163 7.1 1975-78
S6MD1Z 6Y2 1442 85/5600 125/3000 1,075 164 7.1 1978-79
1308 GT /
S / SL 		S6MD1 6Y2 1442 85/5600 125/3000 1,075 164 7.1 1975-78
1309 SX S6MB1 6J2 1592 88/5400 132/3000 1,085 164 8.4 1978-79
Talbot
1510 LS T6MC1 G1A 1294 68/5600 105/2800 1,050 153 6.9 1979-81
61A281 6Y1 1442 69/5200 114/3000 1,060 155 - 1981-82
1510 GL S6MD5 6Y2 1442 85/5600 125/3000 1,060 164 7.1 1979-82
1510 GLS S6MD5 6Y2 1442 85/5600 125/3000 1,060 164 7.1 1979-81
61A382 6J2 1592 90/5400 132/3000 1.110 167 8.8 1981-82
1510 SX T6MB1 6J2 1592 88/5400 132/3000 1.110 158 8.5 1979-81
61A382 90/5400 1,080 167 8.4 1981-82

Talbot Solara

Notchback version: Talbot Solara

In April 1980, the four-door notchback version of the C6 appeared, the development of which had been initiated by Chrysler Europe. The model marketed as Talbot Solara did not meet the expectations of the PSA management. The sales of the Solara had a direct negative impact on the 1510 with hatchback, so that the goal of winning new customers for the Talbot brand with the Solara was missed.

Other variants

Chrysler Alpine from New Zealand production

In Colombia , the Colmotores plant, which was owned by Chrysler until 1979, built the hatchback sedan and marketed it as the Dodge Alpine . Production and sales of the model continued after General Motors took over Colmotores in 1979. They didn't end until 1982.

In Finland , Valmet Automotive manufactured the Talbot 1510 for the local market from 1979 to 1985.

In New Zealand , the model was manufactured and marketed by Todd Motors as the Chrysler Alpine and later as the Talbot SX.

literature

Web links

Commons : Simca 1307/1308  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Talbot Solara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Keith Adams: The cars: Chrysler Alpine development story. Chrysler Alpine: Hatching a new approach. In: AROnline. February 2, 2018, accessed January 10, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b N.N .: Chrysler Alpine Cars: The development story. In: rootes-chrysler.co.uk. 2020, accessed on January 10, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Werner Schruf: Doppelganger . Test Simca 1307/1308 in: auto motor und sport, issue 2/1976, p: 30.
  4. ↑ Bucheli repair instructions 312/313: Simca 1307/1308 (from July 1975)
  5. ↑ Werner Schruf: Doppelganger. Test Simca 1307/1308 in: auto motor und Sport, p. 32.
  6. ↑ Bucheli repair instructions 312/313: Simca 1307/1308 (from July 1975)