Talbot Tagora (1981) – Into the Wild

Last week we stopped at a real Simca 1501 and two weeks ago we presented you with a Simca Horizon in Enthusiast Wanted. The latter was created under the management of Chrysler Europe and was eventually sold as Talbot for years after the sale of that branch to PSA. The Talbot Tagora that we have here thanks to Arno Lommers is another legacy of Chrysler Europe, although it was sold as Talbot from the start. PSA took over before the car was ready and the fate of the large sedan hung by a thread for a while. In the end, PSA decided to take it into production as Talbot anyway, because a lot of money had already been invested.

The Tagora was quite a striking appearance between its peers Peugeots 505 and 604 and especially the Citroën CX. It was put on paper in the United Kingdom and was rather conservative, partly due to the involvement of the American Chrysler management. Under the leadership of Peugeot, the design remained almost untouched, although the nose was extended a bit to accommodate the PRV-V6. In addition to that block, the Tagora also received a few other technical matters from its Peugeot cousins, such as the front suspension and rear axle of the 505. The latter led to the Tagora hanging over its wheels a bit generously at the back, because the rear axle of the the 505 was less wide than what had been devised for the Tagora in advance.

Talbot Tagora.

The Tagora, as you have already realized, became a bit of a mixed bag of ideas and parts, housed under a brand name that did not mean much to the European consumer even then. The result can be guessed: people didn’t exactly line up for it. It therefore took less than three years before the Tagora was off the market after about 20,000 units built. It would therefore remain a relative rarity and certainly more than 40 years later it is special to find a Tagora like this on the street. This copy was brought this way in 2008 and has been with its second Dutch owner since 2015. It has the 2.2 four-cylinder of its predecessor Chrysler 180 in its nose. That is the base engine in the Tagora. A somewhat modest Tagora, who is also not at its best here and there. We forgive him with love. In any case, such a Tagora is a special appearance in today’s street scene!