Simca · 1951–1964

Simca Aronde

The Simca Aronde is an automobile which was manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1951 to 1964. 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" 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.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Simca 8 · Successor: Simca 1300/1500

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The three generations

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.

Simca 9 Aronde

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 detail changes 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 earliest 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 coachbu

Simca 90A Aronde

The second-generation Aronde debuted in October 1955. The new Aronde was now powered by the ungraded and newly named 1290 cc Flash engine. The unit retained the 75 mm (3.0 in) cylinder stroke of the previous engine, but the cylinder bore was increased to 74 mm (2.9 in). The Solex 32 carburetter was unchanged but a raised compression ratio provided for a small increase in claimed maximum power which, for the models as displayed at the motor show in October 1955, now given as 45 hp (34 kW) at 4,500 rpm or 48 hp (36 kW) at 4,800 rpm (and more in some low volume more highly tuned versions). Externally the Aronde for 1956 had an updated 9 Aronde body, with restyled front and rear ends. A very slight lengthening of the car at the back made it possible to position the spare wheel under the floor of the boot/trunk which allowed for a substantial increase in usable luggage capacity. New trim levels, marketed as Elysée and Montlhéry (named after the Autodrome de Montlhéry) appeared. The "Commerciale" and "Messagère" vans remained available, with a 45 PS (33 kW) version of the 1.3 litre "Flash" engine. They received the 90K modelcode. An Aronde Chatelaine 3-door station wagon and an Aronde Intendante Pick-Up were also offered. In January 1957, the 500,000th Aronde was made, and the cars were now exported even to the United States. In October 1957, two new versions joined the Aronde range: the Océane, a 2-seater cabriolet, and Plein Ciel, a 2-seater coupé, both with bodies by Facel. An Aronde Elysee was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1956 and was recorded as having a top speed of 82.6 mph (132.9 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 23.9 seconds. A fuel consumption of 32.6 miles per imperial gallon (8.7 L/100 km; 27.1 mpg‑US) was recorded. The test car

Simca Aronde P60

The P60 Aronde saloons, presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1958, came with a new modern-looking body. The 2,440 mm (96.1 in) wheelbase was unchanged and, apart from a slightly lowered roof-line, the central portion of the body was still broadly similar to that of the original 1951 Aronde, but the discrete tail-fins and rear lights were restyled as were the headlights, set on either side of a larger grille at the front. Mechanically little had changed: more innovative was the wide range of versions and permutations now offered, with customers able to choose from a range of engines offering four different levels of power output (40, 45, 47 or 57 hp) and an options list that even included leather upholstery and a "Simcamatic" clutch. A proliferation of names. In line with the manufacturer's determination to offer customers more choice, the Simca Aronde P60 was offered with various names. The following cars all shared the same wheelbase and the same length/width footprint: Simca Aronde P60 Élysée: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1290 cc (7CV) 48.8 PS DIN (35.9 kW), 51.5 PS SAE (37.9 kW) Simca Aronde P60 Grand Large: "Coach panoramique" (2-door hardtop) 1290 cc (7CV) 48.8 PS DIN (35.9 kW), 51.5 PS SAE (37.9 kW) Simca Aronde P60 Montlhéry: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1290 cc (7CV, higher compression) 56.2 PS DIN (41 kW), 60 PS SAE (44 kW) Simca Aronde P60 Monaco: "Coach panoramique" (2-door hardtop) 1290 cc (7CV, higher compression) 56.2 PS DIN (41 kW), 60 PS SAE (44 kW) Simca Aronde P60 Artisanale/Châtelaine: 3-door estate 1290 cc (7CV) 45 PS SAE (33 kW) Although the engines were unchanged, direct comparisons between the Aronde P60 Élysée and the previous model disclosed a small deterioration in overall top-end performance which was attributed to various "improvem

Australian production

The 90A Aronde was produced in Australia from 1956 by Northern Star Engineering which, along with Continental and General Distributors, had been contracted to assemble the model from CKD kits, using local content. In July 1959, Chrysler Australia announced that future production of the Aronde would be undertaken at its factories in Adelaide. In 1960 the P60 was introduced, selling alongside the 90A well into 1960, and a five-door P60 station wagon was introduced in late 1961. The wagon, which was unique to Australia, was based on the four-door sedan and featured an extended roof-line and a tail-gate fitted with a wind-down window. At the beginning of 1964 the sedan was retailing for £999 including taxes, while the station wagon was £1,109 including taxes. Australian production of the Aronde ceased the same year.

Simca Sport

The Simca Sport was a two seater sports car. It originated as a coupé version of the Simca 8, but with the arrival of the Aronde the Simca Sport acquired a new grille in October 1951, and six months later it gained an extra 20 mm (0.8 in) of wheelbase, from 1952 sharing its 2,440 mm (96.1 in) wheelbase with the Aronde as well as its (at this stage) 1221 cc (7CV) engine. The Simca Sport would continue to share its engine and other technical components, as well as its wheelbase, with the Aronde until its withdrawal in 1962. It became increasingly expensive and correspondingly rare. Although its origins predated those of the Simca Aronde, the Simca Sport is now usually presented as a low volume stylishly rebodied version of the Aronde. The arrival of the 2,440 mm (96.1 in) wheelbase in 1952 coincided with the loss of a separate chassis, and from now on the Sport used an elegant monocoque body. The new monocoque bodied car was offered only as a two-seater hardtop coupé, there being for the time being no replacement for the former Simca Sport cabriolet as the monocoque body did not offer the same levels of rigidity. The three-window 9 Sport, using very similar bodywork to the earlier 8 Sport model, arrived in April 1952 but only lasted for less than a year, with the 1953 9 Sport receiving new five-window bodywork from Facel. Somewhat heavy and expensive, Simca made the fully equipped version into the standard version and renamed it the Coupé de Ville in the fall of 1954. In October 1952 a cabriolet version of the now chassisless Simca Sport was exhibited, but the cabriolet version only entered production more than two years later in the Spring of 1955, presumably reflecting the challenges involved achieving sufficient structural rigidity in a slim and shapely cabriolet body

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Specifications

name: Simca Aronde
Manufacturer: Simca
Production: 1951–1964
Assembly: France: Poissy (Poissy Plant), Australia: Mile End, Australia: Adelaide (Chrysler Australia)
Predecessor: Simca 8
Successor: Simca 1300/1500
Layout: FR layout
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 estate (Australia)
Engine: 1.1 L OHV I4, 1.2 L OHV I4, 1.3 L Flash OHV I4, 1.3 L Rush OHV I4