Talbot Horizon

In short

• European production 1978–1987 in Poissy, Ryton, Villaverde (Madrid) and Uusikaupunki (Finland); 1,070,222 built.
• Transverse front engines driving the front wheels: Simca "Poissy" OHV petrol fours of 1,118, 1,294 and 1,442 cc and a 1,905 cc XUD9 diesel.
• 44–67 kW (59–90 hp), top speeds from 147 to 175 km/h (91–109 mph).
• European Car of the Year 1979; replaced by the Peugeot 309, which was planned as the Talbot Arizona.

Talbot Horizon at a glance

Talbot before the Horizon

Clément-Talbot's early history ran through the S.T.D. combine, which collapsed in 1934 and ceased to exist in 1936. Rootes took over the London company and in 1938 renamed Clément-Talbot as Sunbeam-Talbot. In France, Lago arranged a management buyout of the Paris business; his Talbot-Lago T26 of 4.5 litres finished fourth and fifth in the 1950 British Grand Prix, and the factory closed in 1958.

PSA paid a nominal US$1 (1978) for Chrysler Europe in August 1978 and took control on 1 January 1979. In Britain every former Chrysler product registered after 1 August 1979 carried the Talbot badge, and Chrysler and Talbot together sold nearly 120,000 cars in the UK that year. Alongside the Horizon, the revived range included the Avenger-derived Sunbeam (1977–1981) and the Alpine and Solara (1979–1986, renamed Minx and Rapier in 1984). It also had the Samba three-door based on the Peugeot 104 (1981–1986) and the Tagora saloon (1981–1983), of which 19,389 were built.

Project C2: a Chrysler car for Europe

The Horizon was developed by Chrysler Europe under the code name C2 at the Whitley design studio in the UK. Roy Axe styled it, and Simca engineered it in Poissy as the replacement for both the Simca 1100 and the Hillman Avenger. It was a shorter car than the larger Alpine, which gave it an unusually wide track for its length.

The mechanical layout came largely from the Simca 1100: transversely mounted Simca-designed overhead-valve engines, four-speed gearboxes and torsion-bar suspension. The old OHV engines were widely blamed for the car's lack of refinement. In North America, Chrysler developed the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon alongside it. They looked similar but differed a great deal. The bodies and engines were not interchangeable, and the US cars used larger engines, at first from Volkswagen and PSA and later Chrysler's own 2.2-litre "Trenton" four. They also had MacPherson struts at the front instead of the European torsion bars.

Engines, gearboxes and performance

Across the range, power ran from 44 to 67 kW (59 to 90 hp), top speed from 147 to 175 km/h (91 to 109 mph), and the 0–60 mph time from 17.9 to 11.4 seconds. The gearboxes were carried over from Simca at first and later replaced by the PSA BE unit. The automatic was available on most 1500 models and standard on the 1500 SX, which made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 1978 with a trip computer.

Series II, LEDs and limited editions

The Series II of July 1982 brought a five-speed gearbox, black bumpers and a smaller rear window, because a raised parcel shelf enlarged the boot. Some models had an LED "econometer" around the speedometer, and higher trims had an LED rev counter with lights at 250 rpm intervals. In 1985 the interior, instruments and door cards were updated. Limited editions included the Pullman, the Summertime Special, the Ultra of 1985 and the Silver Fox, and a Talbot Horizon turbo concept was built in 1984.

Built in four countries

In Britain the Horizon was sold from early 1978 as a Chrysler and from 1 August 1979 as a Talbot. Sales were acceptable at first but were held back because it was a French import; they improved once Ryton began building the car in January 1982, then fell as newer rivals arrived. The Finnish plant's run of 2,385 cars that could run on kerosene or turpentine is one of the Horizon's odder footnotes.

Car of the Year and the end of Talbot

The European Car of the Year title for 1979 made the Horizon the second Car of the Year from the Simca side of the business in four years, after the Simca 1307 in 1976. Production in France and the UK ended in June 1986, and in Spain and Finland in 1987. The Peugeot 309, which went on sale in January 1986, replaced it; it had originally been planned as the Talbot Arizona. The Samba ended in May 1986, and after the Express van the Talbot marque was dropped in 1994. Stellantis, formed in 2021, owns the rights to the name.

In numbers, Chrysler's American L-body production of 2,213,367 hatchbacks and coupés was about twice the 1,070,222 European Horizons. The power converter converts the range of 44–67 kW (59–90 hp) into other units. The Horizon's two parents are covered on 1cars in the history of Chrysler Corporation and the history of Peugeot. The Talbot name also won the 1981 World Rally Championship for manufacturers with the Sunbeam Lotus.

The Horizon today

• Diesel: the 1900 LD with the XUD9 engine was sold only in the UK and built in Spain.
• Version: an SX automatic with the trip computer, a Series II with the LED instruments, or the UK-only 1900 LD diesel.
• Name: early cars carry Simca or Chrysler badges, later ones Talbot; the badge shows where and when the car was sold.

More cars of the period are in the 1970s classics section.

Photo gallery