The Talbot Samba is a supermini car manufactured by the PSA Group in the former Simca factory in Poissy, France and marketed under the short-lived modern-day Talbot brand. Based on the Peugeot 104, it had the distinction of being the sole Talbot to be engineered by PSA alone (not inherited from Chrysler Europe like other Talbot cars), the last new Talbot to be launched and the last to be produced. Its demise in 1986 was effectively the end of the Talbot brand for passenger cars. Launched initially as a three-door hatchback, it was also for some time the only supermini available in a factory-ordered cabrio body style and at one time the most economical car in Europe.
When the PSA Group (formed in 1976 after Peugeot bought out its competitor, Citroën) took over the former Chrysler Europe in 1979, one of its first decisions was to rebrand all the models manufactured in the French and British factories to Talbot. Among the models inherited from Chrysler was the Scotland-built rear-wheel drive Talbot Sunbeam, the sole supermini in the lineup. (more...)
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