Simca-Chrysler 1307/1308/1309

The Simca-Chrysler 1307, 1308 and 1309 were a family of front-wheel-drive hatchback saloons that appeared in July 1975, built at Poissy by Simca-Chrysler to replace the Simca 1301 and 1501. The project began in 1969 and was restarted in 1971 under Chrysler's control, with the body styled by Chrysler Europe's studio in England and a hatchback layout kept to make the car practical. It used a transverse engine and front torsion-bar suspension taken from the Simca 1100, and the three names shared one body: the 1307 GLS with a 1,294 cc engine, the 1308 GT with 1,442 cc and, from 1979, the 1309 SX with 1,592 cc and an automatic gearbox. It was the first French car designed with computer assistance and was voted Car of the Year for 1976. After PSA took over Chrysler's European businesses, the range was renamed Talbot 1510 in early 1980, and it was sold in Britain as the Chrysler Alpine and in Spain as the Chrysler 150.