1973 Simca 1000 Rallye 2 – Hyperactive Retirement

When a model hits the one full decade in production, which is already a respectable figure, most times its maker will be looking for a way to let it coast for a few more years. The tooling is fully amortized, the styling is beyond passé and the platform may also be on its last legs, so the options are limited. So what did Simca do with their ageing rear-engined econobox? Turned it into a sports car.

Now, to be entirely fair, the Rallye 2 was not the first sporty rear-engined Simca ever made. There was the Rallye 1 for a start, but that’s only scratching the surface. Being a semi-autonomous tentacle of the Fiat octopus, Simca had access to several sources of sporting street cred, and they used them in a number of ways.

There was the purchase of Talbot, that brought little aside from real estate but a handful of outdated chassis (top left). Simca could have used it to acquire a touch of prestige, but preferred to keep the marque dormant after 1960. With the advent of the 1000 saloon in 1961 (bottom left), which owed some of its DNA to the Fiat 600, Simca found willing partners across the Alps: Abarth used the beefier Simca platform to manufacture everything from slightly modded Simca 1000 saloons to full-fledged custom-bodied specials (top right), and Bertone authored a very handsome coupé (bottom right) for Simca to woo the well-heeled clientele of the Renault Caravelle.

There were two problems with this approach. Bertone’s 1000 Coupé was a minor hit, which eventually got a proper engine, turning it into the 1200 S Coupé (1967-71), but it was never going to be anything more than a pretty car. The properly fast Abarths, for their part, were prohibitively expensive and not meant for the masses; by 1968, they were no longer produced. Surely, Simca could find a better way to keep their 1000 hip and groovy, aping the Renault 8 Gordini?

In 1970, the Simca 1000 Rallye was launched upon an unsuspecting public. It was a timid first step, with a 1.1 litre engine only producing 53hp (DIN), but the go-faster stripes and the mat black frunk lid were a declaration of intent, a display of what was potentially going to come. In early 1972, the 1300cc litre Rallye 1 followed, now with 60hp to play with.

At the 1972 Paris Motor Show, Simca unleashed the Rallye 2, and things got serious. The engine kept to the 1.3 litre category, but it was fed by two double-barrel carburators, deploying a fearsome cavalry of 82 ponies. OK, 82hp out of 1294cc is not that crazy, but one should factor in that the car weighs under 840kg, so the power-to-weight ratio was quite decent.

Almost everything had to be beefed up. Standard-issue Simca 1000s were peaceful 40hp grocery-getters, with a Fiat-derived transverse leaf spring front suspension and coil springs at the rear. Said suspension was lowered; larger anti-roll bars were installed, as were fatter tyres (still in 13’’), heavy-duty shock absorbers, a reinforced gearbox (still with only four forward gears), dual circuit brakes with discs all round, tinted safety windshield, lightweight bucket seats…

The Rallye 2’s most significant modification was moving the radiator to the front of the car, next to the battery, improving both cooling performance and overall balance.

Altogether, the package made for a thoroughly entertaining little machine, able to drift around mountain roads almost as well as the lower-spec Alpine A110, but for two-thirds of the price. And with proper rear seats, as well as a decent front trunk.

Inside, things were quite barren and dark, as befits a budget ‘70s sports car. Just the necessary minimum, no frills. Even a radio would have been superfluous, as it could not have competed with the sound of the engine.

This car was apparently restored in Europe about ten years ago, and it’s as stock as they come. Which is not all that common on these: many were extensively raced and got aftermarket bits here and there. Or shoddy repairs, as the case may be. These cars usually led a tough life.

Rear passengers were treated to a fully wind-down window, unlike the Renault 8 Gordini’s cheapo half-sliding units. No seatbelts, though? Come on, Simca. It goes without saying that no one in their right mind would be sitting in the back seat of a Rallye 2, but if they had to, surely a lap belt could be provided as a minimum.

For 1976, Simca managed to squeeze an extra 4hp out of the engine. They also decided to give the Rallye 2 a new set of decals and a rear spoiler. For the benefit of clients who really wanted to race their car, Simca also started selling a rather impressive “Groupe 2” body kit that also included some interesting engine upgrades.

In 1977, all Simca 1000s received a major facelift with large rectangular headlamps and a fake grille. In December of that year, the Rallye 3 was launched: it was essentially a street-legal production version of the Group 2 kit, with the engine now producing a whopping 103hp.

This was the 1000’s last hurrah: production of the now 18-year-old saloon ended in June 1978. The car’s rallying career carried on until at least 1982, though.

Of the near two million Simca 1000s that came off the production line, only about 16,000 received the Rallye 2 package. Which is not a lot in itself, but also shows there was quite a bit of appetite for the little rear-engined monster in its day.

And according to the folks who test-drove one, both back in the ‘70s and in the subsequent decades, the Simca was as much fun as you could have in a four-door compact with your clothes on.

 

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Curbside Classic: Simca 1000 – The Franco-Italian Baby Corvair, by PN

Curbside Classic: 1965 Simca 1000 GLS – Cute Cubic CC, by T87

Curbside Classic: 1971 Simca 1200 S – Dress To Impress, by T87

COAL: 1964 Simca 1000 – Big Car and Little Car, by Jeff Sun