Simca Horizon History

Designed by Chrysler Europe and introduced in summer 1978, the Horizon was marketed in France under the Simca badge while the rest of Europe received it as a Chrysler. It succeeded both the Simca 1100 and the Hillman Avenger, combining a front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine layout in a modern five-door hatchback body.

The Horizon won the 1979 European Car of the Year, giving the brand back-to-back victories (the 1307 had won in 1976) — an achievement that underlined how technically competitive Simca's engineering had become under Chrysler. A shared platform underpinned the US-market Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon sold across the Atlantic.

When PSA Peugeot Citroën acquired Chrysler Europe's European operations in 1978, the Horizon continued in production, badged first as a Chrysler and then as a Talbot from 1980 onward. The Simca name on the Horizon thus lasted only from its 1978 introduction until the brand transition in 1980.