This Vedette's flagship Présidence became a head-of-state car — coachbuilder Chapron built two custom four-door convertibles for French President Charles de Gaulle.
Median 64 hp across 32 similar cars
Lead trim: Vedette 2,351 cc Aquilon 84 V8 (84 hp)
Simca Vedette Beaulieu / Chambord / Présidence / Marly1958–1961
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FactThis Vedette's flagship Présidence became a head-of-state car — coachbuilder Chapron built two custom four-door convertibles for French President Charles de Gaulle.
After three years in production the Vedettes were given new names and a new, elongated body with a more ornate front end and large tailfins, even more American-looking than before. The engine was uprated to 84 hp (now called Aquilon 84) with the fiscal qualification unchanged. The Versailles was replaced by the Vedette Beaulieu (dropped in autumn 1960) and the Régence by the Chambord, while the estate kept the Marly name; the three-year-old body of the previous Vedette continued without the V8 as the four-cylinder Ariane. 1959 brought the Rush-Matic automatic transmission option (Rush fully automatic, Road manual gear selection) and a new top model, the Présidence, with a luxurious interior, a radiotelephone (a European first) and a continental kit; Chapron built two 2-door Présidence convertibles for a governor of a French colony and, the next year, two four-door convertibles for President Charles de Gaulle. For 1961 the cars received new seats, new chrome decor and an anti-vibration crankshaft. French production of the V8-engined cars ended in the summer of 1961, by which time 173,288 had been produced; Marly production was 28,142 in 1958, 15,966 in 1959, 13,914 in 1960 and 3,813 in 1961. Wheelbase 2,690 mm (105.9 in), length 4,750 mm (187.0 in), width 1,770 mm (69.7 in), height 1,480 mm (58.3 in), curb weight 1,260 kg (2,780 lb).
Collectors Spotted in the Simca Vedette Lineage
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Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vedette 2,351 cc Aquilon 84 V8 (84 hp) | 1958–1961 | 2.4 L V8 | 84 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
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Photographs
This Vedette's flagship Présidence became a head-of-state car — coachbuilder Chapron built two custom four-door convertibles for French President Charles de Gaulle.
When Simca took over Ford's French factory, it scrubbed the Ford name from the new Vedette almost entirely — printing it just once, in tiny type, on the last page of the launch brochure.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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