About Simca Vedette
The Simca Vedette was a large car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by the French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. 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 spawned 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, where the Vedette finally evolved into the Simca Esplanada, following Simca's takeover by Chrysler.
Origins
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.
The first Vedettes
| Simca Versailles | |
|---|---|
| Also called | Simca Trianon Simca Régence Simca Marly |
| Production | 1954–1957 |
| Wheelbase | 2690 mm (105.9 in) |
| Length | 4520 mm (178 in) |
| Width | 1750 mm (68.9 in) |
| Height | 1480 mm (58.3 in) |
| Curb weight | 1150 kg (2535 lb) |
| Fuel capacity | 60 litres (15.9 US gal/13.2 imp gal) |
The acquisition by Pigozzi took place in July 1954, just when Ford was poised to launch its new, modern Vedette, with a 4-door saloon body of 'American' style, much like the contemporary British Fords or Vauxhalls. The car was powered by an unusually small 2,351 cc displacement sidevalve V8 unit called Aquillon in France, which stemmed from Ford's Flathead engine family. Equipped with a two-barrel Zenith 32NX carburetor, it produced 80 hp (60 kW), which slotted the car into the '13 CV' French tax class. Power was transferred to the rear live axle through a 3-speed manual transmission with column shift. The Vedette had independent front suspension (by MacPherson struts) and drum brakes on all four wheels.
