Description
Make. SIMCA Model. 8 SPORT Year. 1949 Engine. 4 cylinders in line Displacement. 1, 220 cm3 Power supply. carburettor Power. 50 bhp Mileage. 24, 345 km odometer Gearbox. Manual 4-speed Condition. Mechanics restored, body in good condition Paint colour. Bordeaux Availability. Immediate - deposit for sale Warranty. 3 months, engine, gearbox, axle A French collector's item signed by a great Italian couturier! The French elegance of the 40s, a feminine ideal! History Faced with competition from popular cars, Simca moved upmarket at the end of the 1940s in an attempt to establish itself in a less competitive sector. The Simca 8 came to the fore, Simca prepared the future Aronde, and in the meantime, a sports cabriolet or coupé with desirable lines appeared: the Simca 8 Sport. As many people know, Simca was a subsidiary of Fiat created in 1935 to produce in France the popular Fiat 500 A Topolino, known locally as the Simca 5. In 1938, Simca extended its range with the Simca 8, a derivative of the Fiat 508C which competed at the time with the Peugeot 202 and other Renaults. In just a few years, with a range of popular cars, Simca became a major player in the French market, much to the satisfaction of its chairman Henri Théodore Pigozzi. Although the Second World War put car production on hold, production started up again once peace was restored with the pre-war Simca 5 and 8, these small popular models were welcome on the market to put France back on its wheels. However, with Renault nationalised, and steel in short supply and allocated by the state, there was no doubt that Renault had the upper hand with its 4CV. The Simca 6, which should have been its rival, appeared in 1947 and had only an anecdotal career. Simca was therefore unable to compete on equal terms in the small popular car segment, despite a well-stocked range, so Pigozzi's firm set its sights higher up the range. The Simca 8 was sold by Simca's communications department as "a luxury car at the price of a production car", with coupé and cabriolet versions on display. Priced and finished to a high standard, the car enjoyed a degree of success. To continue Simca's move upmarket, Henri Théodore Pigozzi, a regular visitor to Italy, was seduced by a proposal from Pininfarina based on the Fiat 1100S chassis, the same as that of the Simca 8. He ordered one and presented it in France under the name "Simca 8 Sport" at the 1948 Paris Motor Show. It was a great success, confirming Pigozzi's desire to offer a sporty convertible. Pigozzi wanted to produce a series of cars based on this prototype and bought the rights from Pininfarina, but the Simca factory was unable to produce it in-house, so it turned its attention to designing a popular saloon, the future Aronde. The coachbuilder Facel-Metallon was commissioned to produce the bodywork and assemble the car, but it was not yet ready. The Fiat parent company sent a delegation to set up the assembly line, and staff seconded from Pininfarina were brought in to fine-tune body production. Everything was ready 18 months later, and production started in March 1949. A few pre-production models had been produced beforehand to test the assembly line, validate a few new features and approve the model, but also to give it a coupé version by adding a hardtop roof. Once approval had been obtained at the end of 1949, pre-production examples of the Simca 8 Sport were entered in the Monte-Carlo Rally in January 1950, and were a great success, finishing fourth and fifth overall in the 1950 Monte-Carlo. Under the bonnet, the Simca 8's 1200 engine was boosted to 50bhp by increasing the compression ratio, fitting larger inlet valves and making various valve-timing adjustments. This power enabled the car's specification sheet to claim a top speed of 135km/ h! But it was above all the Simca 8 Sport's looks that attracted attention, and its lines were quickly recognised in the elegance competitions of the day. In December 1950, the two-piece windscreen was replaced by a curved one-piece windscreen on the coupé version. Then, at the end of 1951, the Simca 8 sported a more aggressive front end with a grille featuring three V-shaped blades. The Simca 8 Sport was only offered for a few months before disappearing in April 1952, to be replaced by the Simca 9 Sport, which used the same engine and base as the Simca Aronde, but with a completely new body. In all, 5, 165 Simca 8 Sport models were produced. Description The car we are offering for sale comes from a collection...
