Simca Aronde P60 - 60

The Simca Aronde was a family car manufactured by the 

French automaker Simca from 1951 to 1963. It was 

Simca's first original design (earlier models were all to a 

greater or lesser extent based on Fiats), as well as the 

company's first unibody car.

The P60 Aronde saloons, presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1958, came with a  new modern-looking body. The 2,440 mm (96.1 in) wheelbase was unchanged and, apart from  a slightly lowered roof-line, the central portion of the body was still broadly similar to that  of the original 1951 Aronde, but the discrete tail-fins and rear lights were restyled as were  the headlights, set on either side of a larger grill at the front.[15] Mechanically little had  changed: more innovative was the wide range of versions and permutations now offered,  with customers able to choose from a range of engines offering four different levels of power  output (40, 45, 47 or 57 hp) and an options list that even included leather upholstery and a  "Simcamatic" clutch. 

A proliferation of names

In line with the manufacturer's determination to offer customers more choice, the Simca  Aronde P60 was offered with various names. The following cars all shared the same  wheelbase and the same length/width footprint:  • Simca Aronde P60 Élysée: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1290cc (7CV) 48 hp (36 kW)  • Simca Aronde P60 Grand Large: 2-door "coach panoramique" (pillarless sedan/saloon)  1290cc (7CV) 48 hp (36 kW)  • Simca Aronde P60 Montlhéry: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1290cc (7CV, higher  compression) 57 hp (43 kW)  • Simca Aronde P60 Monaco: 2-door "coach panoramique" (pillarless sedan/saloon)  1290cc (7CV, higher compression) 57 hp (43 kW)  • Simca Aronde P60 Châtelaine: 5-door estate/station wagon 1290cc (7CV) 45 hp (34 kW)  Although the engines were unchanged, direct comparisons between the Aronde P60 Élysée  and the previous model disclosed a small deterioration in overall top-end performance which  was attributed to various "improvements" to the car's overall profile which, taken together,  reduced the body's aerodynamic efficiency. The Aronde Châtelaine (estate) at this stage  retained the body of the earlier Aronde 90A Châtelaine, but by 1960 a more luxurious estate  version, branded as the Simca Aronde P60 Ranch, combined the new front end (resembling,  according to one source, the 1957 Ford Thunderbird) from the new Aronde P60 with the back end of the previous generation of Aronde estates.

Broadening the range

The announcement of the Aronde P60 coincided with a resurrection for the old 1090cc (6CV)  engine last seen in the Simca 8 before that model received a larger engine in 1949. The old  6CV unit was now fitted in a reduced specification Simca Aronde, but the bodies of these  downmarket Arondes still, at this stage, were those of the 90A Aronde of 1955-58, and not  from the new Aronde P60. The cylinder stroke of the two engines was the same, but the bore diameter on the 1090cc unit was smaller and in return for a rather anaemic level of  performance, buyers enjoyed a small improvement in fuel consumption. The car, known as  the Aronde Deluxe Six, was aggressively priced at 598,000 Francs which enabled it to  compete with the popular Renault Dauphine for which listed prices started at 594,500 Francs.  The "old" Aronde body was also available with the 1290cc (7CV) unit fitted in the new Aronde  P60s, and in this form the car was known as the Aronde Super Deluxe. A year later the entry level Arondes acquired the P60 body that the other models had  received in 1958, and the 1960 cars exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in October 1959  combined the newer bodies with the engines and the reduced specifications of the previous  year's entry level models. The price had crept up too, with the entry level Aronde Deluxe Six  now listed at 6,050 New Francs for a basic saloon, while the basic Renault Dauphine was still  listed at less than 6,000 New Francs. The changes for the 1960 model year also involved more  names, and the three low end Aronde models were now named as follows: • Simca Aronde P60 Deluxe six: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1090cc (6CV) 40 hp (30  kW)  • Simca Aronde P60 Étoile six: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1090cc (6CV) 40 hp (30 kW)  (featuring more sophisticated rear suspension) • Simca Aronde P60 Étoile sept: 4-door berline (sedan/saloon) 1290cc (7CV) 48 hp (36  kW)  After this the old Aronde body was restricted to a single model, the Simca Deluxe sept also  known as the "Aronde Outremer" since it was intended for sale overseas, chiefly in Algeria, at  that time blighted by an increasingly bitter war for independence.

Engines

A new engine, the Rush 1290 cc unit, with the same cylinder dimensions as before, but now  incorporating a five-bearing crankshaft, was fitted to the Arondes beginning from October  1960. A wide range of power outputs for the new engine was offered according to model,  ranging initially from 48 hp (36 kW) to 57 hp (43 kW). During this period higher octane fuels  were becoming the norm at filling stations across France, and some of the changed power  outputs correlated with changed compression ratios. The situation is further complicated by  changes to the basis for computing power output in France (and elsewhere in Europe) at the  end of the 1950s.  A 70 hp (52 kW) version of the engine, called Rush Super, debuted in September 1961 in two  models - the Montlhéry Spéciale saloon and Monaco Spéciale hardtop coupé.

1960

Engine 1290 cc 4 cylinders Power 48 HP Top Speed 130 km/h Lenght 4,12 m Widht 1,56 m Weight 895 kg