Simca Simca 1307 / Chrysler Alpine History

The Simca 1307 (marketed as the Chrysler Alpine in the United Kingdom) was launched in 1975 as a large, front-wheel-drive family hatchback engineered at Simca's Poissy plant and styled by Roy Axe and his team at Chrysler's UK design studio in Whitley. It was among the first cars in the large-family class — alongside the Renault 20/30 and VW Passat — to adopt the front-drive hatchback layout.

The car won the 1976 European Car of the Year award, validating Simca/Chrysler Europe's engineering ambition. Several body variants followed, including the 1308 and the three-box 1309 (Solara). Under PSA ownership after 1978 the model continued as the Talbot Alpine and later Talbot Solara, but the Simca-badged version ran to 1980.