1951 Simca 8

Simca or Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile as they were known in their native France was formed in 1934 to build Fiats for the French car market. They progressed to marketing cars under their own name from 1938 onwards.

The Simca 8 was based on the 1,100cc FIAT 508C Balilla, and following World War II, the Sport version of the '8' was introduced. The Simca-Sport prototype, designed by Pininfarina, was displayed a year earlier at the 1948 Paris Motor Show. Following an enthusiastic reception, the boss of Simca, Henri Pigozzi, decided to put it into production. Construction was handled by Facel Metallon, and a coupe and convertible version followed a year later.

The Simca 8 Sport adapted the Stabilimenti Farina design of the Cisitalia 202, reproportioned by Giovanni Michelotti to fit the Fiat 1100S chassis. Facel-Méttalon, under the direction of Jean Daninos, handcrafted the coachwork using steel and aluminum. Power was from a four-cylinder Simca engine tuned for 50 horsepower (an increase from the saloon's 32). When the engine in the Simca 8 saloon grew to 1,200cc for 1950, the Simca 8 Sport followed suit, gaining two additional horsepower.

Production
The Simca 8 was produced from 1937 to 1951 and offered as a coupe, cabriolet, or saloon.

Mechanical Specification
The Simca 8 had a 95.3-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 157.5 inches, a width of 58.3 inches, and stood 60.2 inches tall. Although it was called the 'Simca 8,' it did not have an eight-cylinder engine but rather a four-cylinder unit, and was officially rated as a 6CV vehicle for tax purposes. Initially, the engine displaced 1,089cc and had a Solex 30mm carburetor, an aluminum cylinder head, overhead valves (driven by rods and rocker arms) and produced approximately 32 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. By 1950, the engine displacement measured 1,221cc.

The engine was paired with a four-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on the top two ratios.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2023