Simca 8
| Simca 8 | |
|---|---|
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Simca 8 4-door saloon
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Simca |
| Production | 1937–1951 |
| Assembly | Nanterre, France |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Large family car (D) |
| Body style | 2-door saloon 4-door saloon 2-door coupé 2-door cabriolet 3-door estate ... (from 1948) |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Related | Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
I4 1090 cc till 1949 I4 1221 cc from 1949 |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual synchromesh on top 2 ratios |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,420 mm (95.3 in) |
| Length | 4,000 mm (157.5 in) |
| Width | 1,480 mm (58.3 in) |
| Height | 1,530 mm (60.2 in) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Simca Aronde |
The Simca 8 was a large family car built by Simca and sold in France between November 1937 and 1951 (including wartime), available as a saloon, coupé or cabriolet. It was a rebadged Fiat 508C "nuova Balilla" made at Fiat's Simca plant in Nanterre, France.
The Simca 8 was first presented, at the Paris Motor Show in October 1937, and sales in France started almost immediately in November. Early the next summer Henri Pigozzi, Simca's energetic boss, organised a three part endurance run under the supervision of the ACF. A single Simca 8 undertook a "non-stop" 50,000 kilometer (31,075 miles) run split as follows:
The initial 10,000 km round the race-circuit south of Paris involved breaking no fewer than 8 international records, although the manufacturer's advertisement including this information does not spell out what these records were. The purpose of the exercise was, of course, to gain positive publicity for the Simca 8, and as soon as the 50,000 kilometers had been completed, on 12 May 1938, a press dinner was organised at which the journalists were able to dine with the drivers, the ACF monitors, and the Simca directors as well as representatives from Shell and Dunlop, whose products had presumably played a key role in the exercise.
The printed summary of the event, used to advertise to the wider public, concluded with an invitation that the reader "achetez la même voiture" (buy the same car).
The '8' in the car's name did not indicate an eight-cylinder engine; it had but four cylinders, and was officially rated as a 6CV vehicle for tax purposes. At launch the car featured a 1,089 cc engine with a claimed output of 32 hp at 4,000 rpm. Fuel feed came via a Solex 30mm carburetor and overhead valves driven, using rods and rocker arms, by a side-mounted camshaft. An unusual feature at the time was the use of aluminium for the cylinder head.
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Wikipedia