Simca Aronde

Simca Aronde
Simca Aronde 4-door saloon (P60)
Overview
Manufacturer	Simca
Production	1951–1964
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door hardtop coupé 2-door coupé 2-door convertible 3-door estate 2-door pickup 2-door van 5-door station wagon (Australia)
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	1.1 L ohv I4 1.2 L ohv I4 1.3 L Flash ohv I4 1.3 L Rush ohv I4
Chronology
Predecessor	Simca 8
Successor	Simca 1300/1500

Simca 9 Aronde
Simca 9 Aronde 4-door saloon; similar to one found in the Tintin episode "The Calculus affair"
Overview
Production	1951–1955
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door hardtop coupé 2-door coupé 2-door convertible 3-door estate 2-door pickup 2-door van
Powertrain
Engine	1221 cc ohv I4
Transmission	four-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,440 mm (96.1 in)
Length	4,070 mm (160.2 in)
Width	1,560 mm (61.4 in)
Height	1,520 mm (59.8 in)

Simca 90A Aronde
Simca 90A Aronde 4-door saloon
Overview
Production	1955–1958
Assembly	France Australia
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door hardtop coupé 2-door coupé 2-door convertible 3-door estate 2-door pickup 2-door van
Powertrain
Engine	1290 cc Flash ohv I4
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,440 mm (96.1 in)
Length	4,115 mm (162.0 in)
Width	1,560 mm (61.4 in)
Height	1,510 mm (59.4 in)

Simca Aronde P60
Simca Aronde 4-door saloon (P60)
Overview
Manufacturer	Simca
Production	1958–1964
Assembly	France Mile End, Australia
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door saloon 2-door hardtop coupé 2-door coupé 2-door convertible 3-door estate 2-door pickup 2-door van 5-door station wagon (Australia)
Powertrain
Engine	1090 cc (6CV) ohv I4 40 hp (30 kW) 1290 cc (7CV) Rush ohv I4 42 hp (31 kW) 45 hp (34 kW) 48 hp (36 kW) 52 hp (39 kW) 57 hp (43 kW) 62 hp (46 kW) 70 hp (52 kW)
Transmission	4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,440 mm (96.1 in)
Length	4,190 mm (165.0 in)
Width	1,570 mm (61.8 in)
Height	1,440 mm (56.7 in)

Simca Sport
Simca Sport Plein Ciel
Overview
Manufacturer	Simca
Production	1950–1962
Assembly	Nanterre, France
Body and chassis
Body style	2-seater sports coupe 2-seater sports cabriolet
Powertrain
Engine	Till 1955: 1221 cc (7CV) ohv I4 50 hp (37 kW) From 1956: 1290 cc (7CV) ohv I4 57 hp (43 kW) later increased to 60 hp (45 kW), then 70 hp (52 kW)
Transmission	4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,440 mm (96.1 in)

The Simca Aronde is an automobile which was manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1951 to 1963. It was Simca's first original design (earlier models were all to a greater or lesser extent based on Fiats), as well as the company's first unibody car."/ Aronde -hirondelle" means "swallow" in Old French and it was chosen as the name for the model because Simca's logo at that time was a stylized swallow.

There were three generations of the model: the 9 Aronde, made from 1951 to 1955, the 90A Aronde, made from 1955 to 1958, and the Aronde P60, which debuted in 1958 and continued until the model was dropped in 1964. Some 1.4 million Arondes were made in total, and this model alone is largely responsible for Simca becoming the second-biggest French automaker at the end of the 1950s.

The first Aronde debuted in the spring of 1951 but initially only a few hundred pre-production cars were distributed to carefully selected "guinea-pig" buyers, and the full production version was finalised only in time for the Paris Motor Show, becoming available for sale in October 1951. The full production version incorporated various detailed changed when compared to the pre-volume production cars, including a changed material for the seat covers and a moulded plastic dash-board which at the time appeared very modern when compared to the metal dashboard on the Aronde's most obvious competitor, the Peugeot 203. A few months later, at the start of 1952, space was found to position the battery under the bonnet/hood: in the original cars the battery was stowed under the front seat.

The Aronde was fitted with a front-mounted 1221 cc 44.5 bhp (33.2 kW) engine from the previous Simca model, the Simca 8, fuel feed being provided by a Solex 32 carburetor. Power was delivered to the rear wheels via a traditional four-speed manual gear box incorporating synchromesh on the top three ratios. The car had independent suspension at the front using coil springs, with a live axle at the rear, suspended using semi-elliptic leaf springs. Hydraulically operated 9.85 in (250 mm) drum brakes were used all round.

The only body style offered at the October 1951 launch was a four-door saloon/sedan/berline, but other configurations very soon became available such as the three-door estate (branded initially as the "Aronde commerciale" and later as the "Châtelaine") with a horizontally split tailgate. There was also a van, called the "Messagère", and a "commerciale semi-vitrée" - part panel van and part estate - became available in 1953. Of more interest to collectors is the two-door coupé coachbuilt by Facel. The Facel-built coupé was replaced for 1953 by a coupé based on the saloon Aronde body, called Grand Large, featuring a large three piece wrap-around rear window and a "pillarless" side window effect when both side windows were wound down.