The Simca Jangada was the first large estate car built in Brazil, produced from 1962. A tropicalised version of the French Simca Vedette Marly, it could carry six adults and two children and only 2,705 were made.
Simca Jangada at a glance
| Production | from 1962, Brazil |
|---|---|
| Based on | Simca Vedette Marly |
| Body | large estate, the first of its kind built in Brazil |
| Seats | six adults and two children on folding seats |
| Built | 2,705 |
| French parent | Simca Vedette, built in France 1954–1961 |
| Brazilian range | Simca Chambord, built in Brazil from 1959 to 1967 |
| Brazilian engine | Aquilon V8, replaced in the Chambord by the 100 hp Tufão in 1964 |
| Structure | reinforced for Brazilian roads |
History of the Simca Jangada
Simca in Brazil
Simca took over Ford’s French operations in 1954 and launched the Vedette, a large car with an American-style body and a 2,351 cc sidevalve V8 called the Aquilon. In Brazil the Chambord, developed from the Simca Versailles, became the first luxury car built there under licence, made from 1959 to 1967. Its styling recalled American Fords of 1955 and 1956, and the design had originally been drawn up in Dearborn for Ford’s French subsidiary.
The problems of the Chambord
Good looks did not make a fast car. The old sidevalve Aquilon V8 had already been abandoned by Ford in the United States, and in Brazil it earned the Chambord the nickname “O Belo Antônio” — handsome but powerless. Simca was also slow to meet the requirements of the GEIA, the body that regulated the Brazilian industry, which made credit harder to obtain and caused severe shortages of parts; the company acquired a serious reputation for poor quality that it never managed to repair. In 1964 the Chambord body was reworked and the car received the 100 hp Tufão engine.
The Jangada
The Jangada was the estate version of that Brazilian Simca, and the first large estate car made in the country. It was a tropicalised version of the French Vedette Marly, and its structure was supposedly reinforced to cope with the difficult state of Brazilian roads. It could seat six adults and two children on folding seats. Production totalled only 2,705 cars. The same Brazilian range also included the cheaper Alvorada of 1963, 30 per cent below the Chambord’s price, of which only 378 were built, and the even more basic Profissional of 1965, intended for the taxi market.
Design and features
- First of its kind: the first large estate car manufactured in Brazil.
- Room for eight: six adults and two children on folding seats.
- Tropicalised: a reinforced structure for Brazilian roads.
- Rare: only 2,705 built, against a much larger Brazilian Chambord production.
Simca Jangada versions
- Jangada (from 1962): the estate based on the French Vedette Marly.
- Simca Chambord (1959–1967): the saloon on which the Jangada was based.
- Alvorada (1963): a stripped Chambord, 30 per cent cheaper, 378 built.
- Profissional (1965): an even more basic version for the taxi trade.
The Jangada was derived from the Simca Vedette, whose French estate was the Marly; the smaller French sister of the Vedette was the Simca Ariane. More cars are in the Simca collection.
Sources
- Simca Chambord, Portuguese Wikipedia: Brazilian production, Jangada, variants, problems
- Simca Vedette, English Wikipedia: French origins, V8 engine, Brazil
