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Talbot is a dormant automobile brand introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot business during the First World War.
Soon after the end of the war, Clément-Talbot was brought into an Anglo-French combine named Darracq (Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq). Shortly afterward, STD Motors' French products were renamed Talbot instead of Darracq.
In the mid-1930s, with the collapse of STD Motors, Rootes Group bought the London Talbot factory and Antonio Lago bought the Paris Talbot factory, Lago producing vehicles under the marques Talbot and Talbot-Lago. Rootes renamed Clément-Talbot Sunbeam-Talbot in 1938, and stopped using the brand name Talbot in the mid-1950s. The Paris factory closed a few years later.
Ownership of the marque – which through a convoluted series of takeovers saw it exist in two different forms by both the Rootes Group and Simca – and with both these companies coming under the ownership of Chrysler Corporation in the 1960s, it eventually fell into the ownership of PSA Group after it acquired the ailing Chrysler Europe from its American parent in 1978. PSA revived the use of the Talbot marque from 1979 until 1994; La turbulenta historia de la marca de coches Talbot on Economía 3, 15 Sep 2022 applying it to the former Chrysler Europe products.
The rights to the Talbot marque are presently owned by Groupe PSA's successor, Stellantis.
Dragged down by the 1924 borrowing to pay for the Sunbeam racing programme, STD Motors and Automobiles Talbot France suffered a financial collapse in late 1934.
In 1938, this Talbot Ten and its stable mates were badged Sunbeam-Talbot and owner, Clément-Talbot's, name changed to fit.
Antonio Lago involved Talbot in sports car and Grand Prix racing as well as producing high quality luxury cars. In the postwar world of austerity the French government introduced punitive annual taxation on cars with engines larger than 2.6-litres and Talbot sales were severely restricted. Lago continued the Talbot business until 1958 when the factory doors were closed.
The dormant Talbot marque was sold to Simca. Simca was gradually acquired by Chrysler Corporation between 1963 and 1970 – which effectively brought the two Talbot brands together since Chrysler Europe already owned the Rootes Group. PSA Group acquired the still dormant Talbot marque when it bought Chrysler in 1978. PSA Peugeot Citroën began to use a Talbot badge on former Simca and Chrysler/Rootes models.
In August 1978, PSA negotiated a deal with Chrysler to acquire Chrysler Europe for a nominal $1. Although PSA took responsibility for Chrysler Europe's considerable debts and liabilities, the move was a strategic one; acquiring Simca would remove a strong domestic competitor in the French market while gaining access to that company's expertise in small front wheel drive cars; while at the same time the old Rootes operations would give the company a stronger foothold in the United Kingdom – France's biggest export market where both Peugeot and Citroën lagged behind arch rival Renault. PSA formally took control of the old Chrysler Europe on 1 January 1979. To lead the new group, former British Leyland executive George Turnbull (who had just completed his secondment at Hyundai), was appointed as the managing director of the UK arm.
The Peugeot takeover saw the end of the Rootes' Hillman Hunter production, but the Hillman Avenger and Chrysler Sunbeam (also both Rootes designs), and the Simca 1307 (Chrysler Alpine in UK), and Chrysler Horizon continued rebadged as Talbots.
All former Chrysler products registered in Britain after 1 August 1979 bore the Talbot badge. Talbot not Chrysler Commercial Motor 13 July 1979 Talbot's UK branch manufactured the Alpine, Solara, and Horizon at its aging Ryton plant in Coventry, after the British-developed cars had all been retired, except for the largest revenue source of the UK arm at that time, building Knock-down kit kits of the Hillman Hunter to be sent to Iran where they were assembled as the Peykan.
The last remaining car produced by the Rootes group, the Chrysler (previously Hillman) Chrysler Avenger, remained in production as a Talbot until the end of 1981; production of the Avenger-derived Talbot Sunbeam also ended in 1981. The entry-level model in the Talbot range from December 1981 onwards was the Talbot Samba, a three-door hatchback based on the Peugeot 104.
In 1981, Peugeot began producing the Talbot Tagora, a boxy four-door saloon marketed as a rival to the Ford Granada and to the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Rekord. But as sales were insufficient in both Britain and France, production ceased in 1983 after only 19,389 units were manufactured.
At the end of 1984, the Alpine hatchback and its related Solara saloon were re-badged Minx and Rapier, depending upon specification rather than body shape. The new names were inherited from the Rootes Group; Rootes had previously produced the Hillman Minx and Sunbeam Rapier. The new versions were produced until 1986. Former Rootes names are still revived occasionally; in 1982, there was a Talbot Solara "Sceptre" model, the name being inherited from the Humber Sceptre which was produced between 1963 and 1976.
At the eleventh hour, the decision was made to release the forthcoming Horizon replacement as the Peugeot 309 instead of Talbot Arizona. It was a controversial decision, because the British arm of the company believed there was greater brand loyalty to Talbot in the UK, with its historical connection to the Rootes Group. However, the decision to concentrate on the Peugeot brand prevailed, and the 309 became the first of a long line of British-built Peugeot models to be assembled at the Ryton plant. Partly because they were perceived as "British" (despite most of their content actually being imported from PSA's French factories), the 309 and the subsequent 405, 306 and 206 models were very successful in the UK market, and regularly featured among the country's top ten best-selling cars.
Around 1984, PSA had also considered launching a replacement for the Talbot Samba based on the platform of the Citroën AX, which was still under-development, but such was the success of the Peugeot 205 in the supermini sector that PSA felt there was little need for a third supermini in its portfolio. It became clear however, that there was no long-term future for the Talbot brand in 1986 when PSA sold the Whitley research and development centre to Jaguar Cars, signalling the end of any more British-developed models.
Production of the Horizon continued in Spain and Finland until 1987, marking the end of the Talbot name on passenger cars (the Samba had been discontinued in May 1986), although the Talbot Express panel van continued in production until 1994, after which the entire Talbot marque was axed.
The merger of Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2021 to form Stellantis, saw the Talbot brand again exist under the same corporate umbrella as Chrysler, over 40 years after the dissolution of Chrysler Europe.
There was a brief participation in Formula One in the 1981 and 1982 seasons by associating with the Equipe Ligier team and using its Matra connection to secure a Matra engine for them, changing official constructor's name to Talbot Ligier in both seasons. The Talbot Ligier team was moderately successful, Jacques Laffite coming fourth in the 1981 championship with two wins.
In the 1981 season, Talbot continued with Fréquelin and Toivonen. Although the team's only win came at the Rally Argentina, driven by Fréquelin, consistent podiums and points-scoring finishes saw Talbot take the manufacturers' title. Fréquelin narrowly lost the drivers' title to Ford's Ari Vatanen. The 1982 season saw the series dominated by the four-wheel-drive Audi Quattro, and with Group B regulations coming up, Talbot withdrew from the WRC. However, the Talbot name continued in the championship, as Jean Todt founded the Peugeot Talbot Sport in 1981. This Peugeot factory team debuted in 1984 and won the drivers' and manufacturers' titles in 1985 and 1986.
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