Talbot Tagora

Talbot
	Talbot Tagora SX
Tagora
Production period:	1980-1983
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	limousine
Engines:	Otto engines : ; 2.2 liters (85 kW) ; 2.7 liters (122 kW) ; Diesel engines : ; 2.3 liters (59 kW)
Length:	4628 mm
Width:	1810 mm
Height:	1444 mm
Wheelbase :	2808 mm
Empty weight :	1255-1345 kg
Previous model	Talbot-Simca 1610

The Talbot Tagora is an upper mid-range vehicle that was produced from mid-1980 to spring 1983.

The original concept went back to Chrysler Europe ; however, after the European Chrysler branches were taken over by the PSA Group , production was carried out under the Talbot brand, which belongs to PSA .

background

The American automobile manufacturer Chrysler was represented in Europe by two different companies: In Great Britain, Chrysler had continued the former Rootes Group under its own name since 1967, while Chrysler was on the continent with the French brand Simca from 1971 . Chrysler offered separate model series in Great Britain and France that had no technical relationship to one another.

With the Simca 1610 , Chrysler tried for the first time to serve one area with a uniform model in both markets, but was unsuccessful. It was only with the follow-up project C6 and the resulting Simca 1307 , 1510 and Solara models that the brand was able to position itself successfully in the middle class.

With the project C9 one tried to enter the upper middle class according to the same pattern. With this vehicle, Chrysler wanted to compete against models like the Citroën CX , Peugeot 604 , Renault 30 , Ford Granada , Audi 100 or Rover SD1 . An annual production of 60,000 vehicles was planned.

development

Under the project name C9 , construction began in the British design center Whitley in 1977, while Simca in Poissy was responsible for technical development. At the time Chrysler Europe was taken over by PSA, development of the Tagora was largely complete. From the point of view of the PSA managers, this made it impossible to stop the project. Instead, PSA prepared for series production. In order to save costs, various technical parts were replaced with assemblies from Peugeot shortly before the market launch. The front axle comes from the 604 and the transmission from the 504 . From the 505 , Talbot used the rear axle, which, however, has a reduced track width in relation to the body.

Within the group, the Tagora was positioned between the Citroën CX and the Peugeot 604.

Production started in mid-1980 with a pre-series, series production began in spring 1981. The Talbot Tagora was produced exclusively in the French plant in Poissy.

Model history

In October 1980, the Tagora was presented at the Paris Motor Show as the top model of the revived Talbot brand. At first there was only the 2.2 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with 115 hp from the connection with Chrysler-Simca in the equipment lines GL and GLS with four- ( GL ) or five-speed manual transmission ( GLS and SX ). From mid-1981, the automatic transmission from ZF already used in the Peugeot 504 was available on request .

After the takeover by PSA, a large engine was also available, so that from August 1981 the top -of- the-range SX with a six-cylinder gasoline engine from the joint development of Peugeot, Renault and Volvo ( PRV engine ) with a displacement of 2.7 liters was offered. Talbot increased its output by using two Weber triple carburetors, sharper camshafts, Mahle pistons and venturi valves from 100 kW (136 hp) to 122 kW (166 hp). The increased torque from 206 Nm (DIN) to 234 Nm (DIN) allowed acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in less than 8 seconds and a top speed of almost 200 km / h. With this performance, the Tagora SX was the most powerful French production vehicle at the time.

At the same time as the SX model , the new DT line was introduced, which was equipped with a 2.3 liter, 59 kW (80 hp) supercharged diesel engine from the Peugeot 604.

The Talbot Tagora was modern for the time and equipped with a lot of electronics. In addition to an electronic ignition, there was monitoring of the oil and water levels, the lighting and the brake pads. On request, a "travel data computer" (standard on the SX ) was offered, which shows the average fuel consumption and the speed driven, among other things. Cruise control was available for vehicles with automatic transmissions .

Despite all these measures, the Tagora did not meet expectations, so that production had to be stopped in the spring of 1983 after a total of 20,133 copies had been produced. The vehicle was thus a commercial failure. Only 3,274 vehicles were sold in Germany.

Today the Tagora has disappeared except for a few copies.

Custom-made products and prototypes

Tagora Presidence

In the fall of 1981, the prototype of a luxury version as the Tagora Presidence was presented at the Talbot Design Center in Whitley, UK . This vehicle was designed by the designer Sunny Atri and was intended to show the technological achievement Talbot is capable of. Governments and business leaders should be won over as customers for this model.

Outwardly, the model based on the SX only differed from the other versions in terms of different aluminum rims and darker taillights. The interior had seats made of the finest Connolly leather with a matching luggage set and brass inlays in the center console. The technical equipment included a telephone, a color TV with teletext, a video recorder, a dictation machine and a 100 W audio system.

However, it did not go into series production, so the Presidence remained a one-off. It is now in the CAAPY collection (Collection de l'Aventure Automobile à Poissy).

Tagora taxi

In the fall of 1982 Talbot presented a taxi version of the Tagora DT in Paris . The taxi has an interior with height-adjustable front seats and rear headrests as well as the chrome-decorated bumpers of the SX .

An order for more than 5000 units for Paris placed at the beginning of 1983 was no longer accepted by PSA.

Special model for the British police

At the end of October 1982, the PSAs marketing department decided to introduce a special model that was only intended for the British police. Based on the SX line , these vehicles were fitted with seats and interior panels made of vinyl. The TRX tires were kept, but they came on steel instead of aluminum wheels. The on-board computer and the headlight washer were no longer required, and additional fog lights were available.

Although a demand of 100 was expected, in the spring of 1983 only three vehicles were delivered to the police authorities in Cumbria, Northumbria and West Yorkshire.

Heuliez prototypes

Also in 1982 the French designer and coachbuilder Heuliez presented two vehicles based on the Tagora:

a prototype of a Tagora intended as a successor to the Peugeot 604 with a new and less angular front section with Peugeot lions in the grille

the draft of a station wagon version of the Tagora.

PSA was no longer interested in either of these proposals, as the end of the brand was already in sight.

New PRV engine for model year 1984

For the 1984 model year, the SX equipment line was to be equipped with the new 2.8 liter PRV engine (type ZNJK). The equipment with the two Weber triple carburettors was retained, resulting in an output of 136 kW (185 hp). The equipment with automatic transmission and cruise control was provided as standard.

10 prototypes of the new engine were made and after the decision to discontinue production of the Tagora, they were delivered in series vehicles from the 1983 model year without informing customers. Some examples of these vehicles have survived to this day and are in collectors' hands.

Use as a racing car

Talbot Tagora Superproduction (replica)

In 1982 a Tagora GLS was used in the then very popular French racing series Superproduction . The main sponsor was the battery manufacturer Dinin and the companies Total and Marlboro . A 2.2 liter engine with 154 kW (210 hp) modified by the tuning company Danielson was used for the drive. The former Formula 1 racing driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise was originally announced as the pilot . The races were then driven by Formula 1 driver and brand world champion Jean-Louis Schlesser and Le Mans drivers Alain Couderc and Jean-Louis Bousquet .

The Tagora was not very successful: in 1982 there was no placement. In the 1983 season, the engine was replaced by the six-cylinder PRV engine from the Tagora SX, again modified by Danielson and now with an output of 200 kW (275 hp).

It wasn't until 1984 that a Tagora completed a full race. Jean-Claude Lompech is the first to cross the finish line in Montlhéry , but was subsequently downgraded to sixth place due to an early start. In the same year, Lompech finished fourth in Rouen and Jean-Luc Baudet came 13th in Magny-Cours , which ended the Tagora’s racing career.

None of the racing vehicles remained. However, there is a detailed replica of the vehicle used in 1982.

Equipment and engines

The Tagora was available in four equipment lines and with three different engines:

GL : 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with 85 kW (115 PS)
GLS : 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with 85 kW (115 PS)
SX : 2.7-liter V-six-cylinder with 122 kW (166 hp)
DT : 2.3-liter turbodiesel with 59 kW (80 PS)

Interior of the Tagora SX
Talbot Tagora GLS
Dashboard of the Tagora GLS
The six-cylinder engine (PRV) of the Tagora SX developed jointly with Renault and Volvo

The 2.2 l four-cylinder Simca engine was only available for the LS and GLS lines .

Model overview

model	GL	GLS	SX	DT
construction time	1980-1982	1980-1983	1981-1983
engine	Type 9N2 Otto four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine with a cast iron overhead camshaft with an aluminum cylinder head		Type 9L6 Otto V6 engine made of aluminum, 90 ° cylinder bank angle, chain-driven with overhead camshafts	Type 9U8-4 diesel four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine a side chain-driven camshaft turbocharger Garrett cast iron with aluminum cylinder head
Displacement	2155 cc		2664 cc	2304 cc
Bore × stroke	91.7 mm x 81.6 mm		88 mm × 73 mm	94 mm × 83 mm
Mixture preparation	1 × double carburetor Solex 32-35 TMIMA		2 × triple carburetor Weber 40IT	Injection pump Bosch VE4
Ignition system	Electronic, Bosch or Ducellier		Electronic, Bosch	Self-ignition due to the principle
compression	9.45: 1		9.5: 1	21: 1
Output kW (PS) at 1 / min	85 (115) at 5400		121 (165) at 6000	59 (80) at 4150
Torque Nm at 1 / min	180 at 3200		230 at 4200	180 at 2000
drive	Rear-wheel drive via cardan shaft, fully synchronized four-speed gearbox, optional five-speed gearbox	Rear-wheel drive via cardan shaft, fully synchronized five-speed gearbox, optional three-speed automatic gearbox	Rear-wheel drive via cardan shaft, fully synchronized five-speed gearbox	Rear-wheel drive via cardan shaft, fully synchronized five-speed gearbox, optional three-speed automatic gearbox
landing gear	Independent suspension, front: wishbones with MacPherson struts , rear trailing arms	Independent suspension, front: wishbones with MacPherson struts , rear semi- trailing arms , power steering
bikes	14 inch steel, 175SR14 tires		Aluminum metric 365 mm, tires 210 / 65TR365 (Michelin TRX)	14 inch steel, 175SR14 tires
Brakes	Hydraulic dual circuit braking system. Disc brakes at the front, drum brakes at the rear		Hydraulic dual circuit braking system. Ventilated front disc brakes, rear disc brakes	Hydraulic dual circuit braking system. Disc brakes at the front, drum brakes at the rear
Empty weight	1265 kg		1345 kg	1365 kg
Dimensions L × W × H	4.63 m × 1.81 m × 1.44 m
Gauge	front: 1.51 m / rear: 1.47 m
wheelbase	2.81 m
Turning circle	11.3 m
Top speed	169 km / h		195 km / h	154 km / h
Consumption in liters per 100 km at 90 km / h / 120 km / h / city traffic	7.4 / 9.9 / 12.8	7.1 / 9.6 / 12.8 (Auto 8.5 / 11/16)	8.5 / 11.3 / 16	6.3 / 8.7 / 8.9
Source of technical data: Revue Technique Automobile, Fiche technique Tagora GL, GLS, SX, DT; ETAI 1984

Web links

Commons : Talbot Tagora - collection of images, videos and audio files

History of the Talbot Tagora (English)
Chrysler Project C9 (English)

Individual evidence

^ "Simca, de Fiat a Talbot" - Michel G. Renou, ETAI 1999

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wrong car, wrong time. ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: rootes-chrysler.co.uk (English). @1@ 2