| Simca 1100 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Simca |
| Also called |
|
| Production | 1967–1985 |
| Assembly | |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | C-segment compact family car |
| Body style | 3/5-door hatchback 5-door estate 2-door coupe utility (pickup) 3-door van |
| Layout | Front engine, front-wheel drive |
| Related | Matra Rancho |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
|
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,520 mm (99.2 in) |
| Length | 3,937 mm (155.0 in) |
| Width | 1,587 mm (62.5 in) |
| Height | 1,460 mm (57.5 in) |
| Kerb weight | 918 kg (2,024 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Talbot Horizon |
The Simca 1100 is a series of French compact family cars – mainly C-segment hatchbacks, but also a compact wagon and popular delivery vans – built for over 15 years by French car-maker Simca, from 1967 through 1982/1985. There was even a very early 'hot hatchback', and a family cross-over: the Matra Simca Rancho. The hatchbacks were replaced by the Simca-Talbot Horizon.
The 1967 Simca 1100 series is historically impressive for its very early combination of many modern design features – in very affordabe cars, and in many available (engine) configurations. The 1100 series were the first unibody family hatchbacks and compact estate car, to integrate a transversely mounted engine and front-wheel drive, with all-around, modern independent suspensions with anti-roll bars (double wishbones up front, and rear semi-trailing arms), and disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, and folding rear seats, for maximum space utilisation and practicality.
The 1967 introduced front-wheel drive Simca 1100 hatchback range was a top seller across Europe, and said to have (contributed to) convince Volkswagen to replace its entire, all rear-engined and -drive vehicle range, with a whole new, front-engined and front-drive range,[3] leading to the Mk 1 VW Polo, Golf and Passat series.[citation needed]
At just under four metres in length (3.94 m (12.9 ft)), the 1967 Simca 1100 series hatchbacks practically set the blueprint for European and Japanese C-Segment hatchbacks, defining most of their core design traits for several of the following decades.
- ^ 1977 Dodge 1100 Pickup (UK) advertisement, www.flickr.com Retrieved 3 August 2015
- ^ Thompson, Andy. "The Simca 1204 (US) and Simca 1100 - most popular car in France - and Talbot Wind". Allpar.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012.
- ^ The commonality between front-drive and -engine, and rear-drive and -engine, is to bring the power-source to the powered axle, at the same end of the vehicle. This brings the engine's weight over the driven wheels, improving traction; and cutting a drive-shaft running from front to back, saves weight and material costs, and avoids a tunnel, giving a flat, more spacious cabin floor. Mounting the engine transversely is also made easier, removing the typical gearbox hump between the driver and front passenger's legs, badly obstructing three-abreast seating room on the front row. However, an important difference is that supple front-wheel drive requires constant velocity joints, costly parts that carmakers mostly avoided, into the 1960s, and a big reason why so many affordable and economy cars were rear-engined after World War II.