The heart of the Simca 1000 lay in Italy, but it was the French who built it.

The Mille proved that a small, rear-engined car didn’t necessarily need to have a
Renault badge on its nose to sell in its millions.

France’s Million-selling Imp rival

Simca 1000

It is fair to say that, when Egypt’s leader Colonel Nassar nationalised the Suez
Canal and started what became known as the Suez Crisis, it is quite unlikely that
the fate of Europe’s carmakers was foremost in his thoughts. And yet, the Suez
Crisis did have a huge impact on the buying habits of car buyers and, therefore,
manufacturers rushed to meet buyers’ needs.

As is explained in more detail in the Mini and Hillman Imp development stories, the
crisis led to a fuel shortage, and Europe’s carmakers rushed to produce more
economical cars. Simca’s needs were as great as anyone’s simply because its
smallest car, the hugely successful Simca Six Aronde, was a medium-sized car,
displacing 1221cc and was, therefore, too large to cash in on the economy car boom.

Projet 950 takes shape at Poissy

Simca’s founder, Henri Théodore Pigozzi, devised a two-tier plan to develop a small
car. The company would develop its own economy car, which would be considered a
spiritual successor to the Simca Cinq of the 1930s and ‘40s, a car that paved the
way to Simca’s later successes. Pigozzi also wanted to produce a rival to the
Renault Dauphine, and envisaged that larger-engined versions of it would bridge the
gap to the Aronde. This car was called Projet 950; so-called because it was
envisaged that the car would sport an engine capacity around this mark.

Given that Simca was closely tied to Fiat, and had been since Pigozzi set-up Simca
to build its cars under licence in 1934, it was logical that he also approached the
Italian company to submit its ideas on how a mini-Simca should look. Fiat,
therefore, commenced work on its own car, the Project 122.

Simca 1000

During the winter of 1959-1960, Fiat’s Project 122 was dropped from Simca’s plan
after it became clear that the company’s own effort would be more suitable, thus
leaving Projet 950 (above) a clear run to production. Now that the small car plan
was focused solely around Projet 950, the new car development moved forwards
rapidly. By the spring of 1960, Projet 950 prototypes were in circulation, acting
as mobile testbeds for varying mechanical configurations.

Choosing a rear-engined layout

Like all of its immediate opposition of the time, Simca went for a rear-engined
design, but in terms of the engine itself, Pigozzi ensured that the mini-Simca
would sport a more advanced specification than the car he was hoping to topple: the
Renault Dauphine. Initially, a flat-four motor had been investigated, but was soon
dropped when it became clear that it could not be designed to meet Simca’s goals
for it.

In its place, came an ultra-modern inline water-cooled four-cylinder engine

(denoted the Type 315), with a five main bearing crankshaft (instead of the usual
three found in all its rivals). Despite this engineering luxury, the new powerplant
proved so inexpensive for the company to build, that more money could be dedicated
its gearbox.

Again, with one eye on Renault, Simca ensured that the new car’s gearbox would be a
good one; a Porsche baulk ring synchromesh was specified (as per the 1961 Mini and
the 1963 Hillman Imp), and the plan to equip it with a three-speed gearbox was
rapidly revised when Pigozzi discovered that the upcoming ‘Super Dauphine’ (Renault
8) would be using a four-speed unit.

Launching the Simca 1000

Simca 1000
The cute little Simca 1000 proved an immediate hit with France’s small car buyers…
M Pigozzi quite clearly stated that the mini-Simca would début at the 1961 Paris
Auto Salon, to be held in October. Not only that, but he went on to insist upon the
importance of having cars in stock ready to sell at the time of its launch. In
other words, the prototype to production phase would be less than 18 months! It was
a tall order, especially when one considers that the styling was not complete at
this stage in the proceedings: Stylist Mario Boano came aboard in order to apply
last-minute modifications to the car’s styling in order to make it more saleable.

Originally, it was planned to name Projet 950, ‘Arielle’, as it tied in perfectly

with the rest of Simca’s range. It was thought that Arielle would have the
advantage of being instantly recognizable as a Simca, and the resulting range that
consisted of Arielle, Aronde and Ariane would have had a nice alliterative quality.

However, the Aronde had been around since 1951, and the Arielle, 1957, and both
were now considered to be long in the tooth. Not only that, but the matter of these
two cars’ replacements would soon be occupying Simca. Therefore, it was decided to
start a fresh (if unoriginal) naming convention, by naming the car after the class
it was to compete in: the ‘1000cc class’.

Production ramps up hugely

By February 1961, preparations for the production of the Simca 1000 were well
underway at Poissy; the outgoing (ex-Ford) Vedette would make way for the new car.
The Simca 1000’s assembly lines were going in, and they were certainly more
automated than those that were coming out.

The line consisted of 9000m of conveyor belts and and a total of 500 brand new
machines were also installed; these statistics belied the fact that Simca were
confident that the 1000 was going to do well in the marketplace, and it was a
confidence borne out of being France’s largest privately-owned carmaker at the
time. By the June 1961, the lines were in, and the following month, the first 1000s
started rolling off the production line.

July 1961’s issue of l’Auto Journal featured the first press release from Simca to
state that it would be launching a new 5CV car in time for the Paris Salon. At the
time, Simca had started building up stocks of the 1000 in anticipation of its
autumn launch at the rate of 250 per day. Because the 1000 was still a secret,
stocks of the car would be strategically parked where the public could not see
them; mostly in Poissy compounds, nestled behind Arondes.

On 6 October 1961, the press had its introduction to the Simca 1000 at the
Montlhérey race track, and found the car much to its liking. Following on from
this, the 1000 was officially launched at the Paris Salon on 10 October; following
Pigozzi’s schedule to the day – a seriously impressive achievement.

Simca 1000 production history

Simca 1000

The Simca 1000 proved an immediate success for the company, building on the
strengths of the existing range, while proving to be a useful move into the ‘1000cc
class’. By the end of 1962 (the first full year of 1000 production), Simca had sold
over 160,000 examples, proving that the company could take the fight to Renault.
Henri Théodore Pigozzi had been proved correct in his desire for Simca to move into
this lucrative market.

The early success of the Simca seemed to remain undented following the launch of
the Renault 8 in 1962. The two cars went head-to-head on the French marketplace,
and the similarities between the pair were hard to ignore, right down to styling
details.

It was the Simca policy of continued development and improvement that allowed the
company’s baby to perform so well in the fact of such opposition. In fact, by 1963,
and because of the continued success of the 1000 range Simca were firmly
established as one of France’s ‘Big Four’, and undoubtedly, that brought the
company to the attention of Chrysler in the USA, which was looking to expand into
Europe…

Chrysler steps in
Although Chrysler’s purchase of 64 per cent of Simca’s equity had little effect on
slowing the 1000’s sales, the takeover of the company and replacing of Henri
Théodore Pigozzi would have lasting implications.

Although sales remained healthy, the 1000 was far from being perfect; and the
French press were critical of its vague steering and unimpressive directional
stability. So much so, that even though the upcoming 1100 had just commenced
development, the Poissy Engineers worked hard on taming the 1000’s dynamic foibles.

Many detail changes were introduced during the first couple of years, and they
seemed to alleviate the problems, even though such press criticism seemed to have
little impact on the 1000’s sales momentum.

Sadly, the 1000’s sporting pretentions would take a dent during its early life,
thanks to the Chrysler takeover. Simca’s links with Fiat were finally unravelled
and, sadly, it was this distancing from the Italians (and the poor performance of
Simca-Abarth at Le Mans in 1962) that led to the demise of the fruitful partnership
with Abarth. The timing of this could not have been worse, as Renault and Gordini
were growing closer all the time…

France's Mini-Cooper. The Simca 1000 Rallye enyoyed a long and successful run, and
at the end of its life, it could outrun the recently launched Volkswagen Golf GTi
and Opel Kadett GT/E.
France’s Mini-Cooper. The Simca 1000 Rallye enyoyed a long and successful run and,
at the end of its life, it could outrun the recently launched Volkswagen Golf GTi
and Opel Kadett GT/E

The Simca 1000’s evolution

Oct 1961 Simca 1000 unveiled at the Paris Salon, after a rapid gestation. The
first rear-engined Simca sparked immediate interest and, thanks to a large pre-
launch stock having been built up, the company were in a position to capitalise on
the interest the car aroused.
Mar 1962 Coupé 1000 Bertone and the Simca-Abarth 1150 were shown at the Geneva
Salon.
1963 944cc’s power increased from 34 to 39bhp, fuel tank enlarged.
Simca 900 introduced; as a lower priced and equipped entry model in the range.
Simca 1000GL introduced; to top the range.
1964 Simca 1000 exported to the USA.
1966 Simca 900 dropped, 1000L becoming the new entry level model. The model range
was re-aligned, with the introduction of a new LS model. GL and GLS remain as
before.
Revised dashboard incorporating a strip speedometer is phased in.
Simca 1000GLA Ferodo semi-automatic model introduced.
1967 Chrysler badging makes an appearance.
1969 The range is completed facelifted, and the new model range looks like this:
Sim’4, 1000 and 1000 Spécial. The existing 944cc engines replaced by the type 349
(related to that used in the Simca 1100), and the Sim’4 used a Type 359 motor,
displacing 777cc. Exterior styling characterised by new frontal styling, which now
sported large, rectangular headlamps.
1970 Sim’4’s power boosted from 31 to 33bhp.
The 1000 Rallye launched.
1972 1000 Rallye 1 launched, featuring the 1294cc engine from the 1100 Spécial.
1000 Spécial upgunned to 1294cc and the GLS model now features 1118cc engine.
1200S production stopped.
1973 82bhp Rallye 2 introduced.
1975 The 1000 range features a new dashboard.
1976 1000SR 1294 (featuring Type 371 engine) replaced 1000 Spécial.
1000SR 1118 replaced 1000GLS.
1977 Final facelift: cosmetically, larger headlamps and re-profiled bonnet
introduced. New model nomenclature (to fit in with the rest of the range) and the
range looks like this: 1005LS (944cc 40bhp), 1005 Deluxe, 1006GLS (1118cc 55bhp),
Rallye 1 and Rallye 2.
Group 2 kit and the ‘Coupe SRT 77’ offered (producing 110bhp) as an upgrade kit on
the Rallye 2.
Rallye 3 introduced, featuring 103bhp 1294cc engine.
1978 Production ended in May.
Fighting the front-wheel-drive opposition
Simca 1000

To counter the rise of front-wheel-drive opposition, which was beginning to make

its presence felt on the market, Simca continued a policy similar to that of
Volkswagen’s, of continuous development and improvement. As a result, sales
remained strong, as customers felt the continued benefit of an ever-improving
specification sheet.

The launch of the BMC 1100 in 1962, and the Autobianchi Primula meant that it was
only a matter of time before the writing was on the wall for rear-engined economy
cars. Simca had an answer to that, and it came in motorsport.

The superb 944cc Type 349 engine possessed great tuning potential, and it would
play host to an amazing profusion of enlargements and power hikes (amazingly, it
was closely related to the 1.6-litre Alpine/Solara engine of the 1980s), and would
find a home in the cult Simca 1000 Rallye.

Strong home sales were further bolstered by the launch of the facelifted version of
1969, which finally saw the 1000 receive rack and pinion steering, as well as a
whole raft of other improvements. Not only that, but the company showcased its,
‘Simca Challenge’, which played on the little car’s strengths as a drivers’ car by
encouraging hotshoes to look closely at the range.

The Abarth connection

The initiative was a success, and was soon followed up by the launch of the 1000
Rallye – a follow-up to the Simca-Abarth of 1961-62. The first Rallyes were not
particularly quick (after all, it amounted to a Sim’4 base model, plus 1000 Spécial
engine), but they looked sporty and, above all, were inexpensive. The success of
this model would soon lead to faster models…

…and this would be the story of the 1000 for its remaining days: stronger engines
on an almost annual basis, and continuing equipment upgrades. By 1975, Chrysler in
the USA were experiencing major financial difficulties, and that meant that it
could no longer afford to run the UK and French operations as separate entities –
plans were therefore made to replace the Rootes and Simca lines with a single,
rationalized Chrysler-badged product range.

Where would this leave the Simca 1000? Well, by the mid-1970s, it was seen as a
relic of a bygone age (except with competitive drivers, who saw the Rallye as an
inexpensive way into motorsport) and it came as no surprise that it would be
replaced by a new range of front-wheel-drive cars.

Well, that was the plan…

So, after a long and successful life, the Simca was laid to rest in May 1978 after
a production of nearly one and a half million units. It had certainly performed
well in the marketplace (putting the Hillman Imp’s production run of 440,000 into
perspective), and became something of a cult in its own lifetime.

However, thanks to the anomalies between the Rootes and Simca ranges, the logical
replacement for the 1000 should have been a 1118cc version of the Chrysler Horizon
but, due to Chrysler UK’s desperate need to replace the Imp, the 1000 was actually
replaced by the Chrysler Sunbeam! The UK-designed hatchback was rear driven and
powered by engines related to the Imp and Avenger, and therefore, owed nothing at
all to the little Simca.

That is not to say that the Simca 1000 died in 1978: the Horizon used derivatives
of this engine, and the Rallye name was successfully applied to later Talbot and
other PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) cars. So, if nothing else, the Simca 1000 should be
remembered for bringing us the stripped-out performance car; one that delivers more
through adding less.