Talbot Tagora History

Developed from 1976 under Chrysler Europe's internal code C9, the Tagora was intended as a replacement for the Chrysler 180 and a direct competitor to the Ford Granada and Vauxhall Carlton. Styling was handled at Chrysler's UK design centre; technical development remained at Poissy. PSA inherited the project after its 1978 acquisition and pressed ahead.

The Tagora went on sale in France in April 1981 and in the UK in May, available with four- and six-cylinder petrol engines and a Peugeot-sourced 2.3-litre diesel. Chrysler's original business case had projected 60,000 units a year. Instead the car was described as a 'showroom flop' within months of launch. Sales totalled 15,513 in 1980–81, then collapsed to 2,566 in 1982 and 1,310 in 1983.

PSA cancelled the Tagora in 1983; total production was approximately 19,389 units — making it one of the most prominent commercial failures of the PSA-era Talbot range and a symbol of the brand's terminal decline.