The Simca Esplanada is a large

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

manufactured by

Simca do Brasil Simca do Brasil was a subsidiary of the now defunct French automaker Simca and started out in the late 1950s assembling the Simca Vedette imported in kit form from France and selling it in three versions, the Chambord, Présidence and Rallye. Lat ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

from 1966 to 1969. It was manufactured at Simca do Brasil's

São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...

factory. Launched at the 1966 Salão do Automóvel in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, it replaced the Simca Chambord and related models. The basic

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

of the Esplanada can be traced back through the French-built

Simca Vedette The Simca Vedette is a large car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. The Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth, and en ...

to the

Ford Vedette The Ford Vedette is a large car formerly manufactured by Ford SAF in their Poissy plant from 1948-1954. Originally conceived by Edsel Ford and Ford designer Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie as a “light” Ford model, smaller than the 1942 Ford. Howeve ...

. The Emi-Sul engine was derived from the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

flathead V8 of 1932, and was the last version of that design built for a production car. Though the Chambord's engine and central section were retained, the Esplanada featured radically restyled front and rear ends. The interior featured reclinable leather seats and fine Jacarandá wood trimmings on dashboard and doors. The engine now was fed by an electric fuel pump and featured a 34-Ampère alternator. The 6M trim featured an overdrive that operated on all three gears of the standard transmission, and was marketed as a six-speed. From August 1967 on, the Simca Esplanadas featured a small badge at the rear end with the writing "''fabricado pela Chrysler''" ("built by Chrysler") following the takeover of

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...

and Simca do Brasil by the American auto manufacturer in April. After sending a copy of the Esplanada to Detroit for review and testing, changes dictated by Chrysler headquarters lead to improvements for 53 mechanical details being introduced in April of 1968. The car's appearance was also updated with quad headlamps, a new grille, new tail lights, and new interior details. The 2.5L version of the Emi-Sul engine was discontinued in favor of a 2.4L version, which had only . The significant mechanical improvements allowed Chrysler the confidence offer a novel 2-year or warranty. A lower-specification version of the Esplanada called the Simca Regente was introduced in 1966. In 1968 a sporty version of the Esplanada called the Simca GTX was introduced at the Salão do Automóvel in São Paulo. It offered a standard four-speed transmission, bucket seats, and larger wheels. The production of the Esplanada, the Regente, and the GTX ceased in 1969 when

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

introduced the larger Dodge Dart to the Brazilian market. Simca Esplanada Águas de Lindóia

Production data

*Esplanada - 12,040 *Regente - 4,778 *GTX - 631 *Total production - 17,449 cars

References

External links

Simca Club Brazil
{{Simca timeline Esplanada Cars of Brazil Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1966