8 extinct French marques

Gone, but never forgotten

France’s book of automotive history is full of once-great brands that have been gone for decades.

While the nation is largely absent from the upper echelons of the automotive industry (with very few exceptions, like Bugatti), it was once home to several car makers that could credibly claim to compete against respected names like Bentley and Porsche.

From the manufacturer widely credited as winning the first-ever motor race to the enthusiast-fuelled start-up that could have snowballed into France’s answer to Lotus, join us for a look at some of the great French marques that tripped, fell, and never got back up.

1. Panhard (1887-1967)

Panhard was one of the car industry’s pioneers. Formed in 1887 as Panhard & Levassor, it purchased a licence to build Daimler’s two-cylinder engine and began manufacturing cars in a factory in Paris.

It turned its attention to racing in the 1890s and won several high-profile events; it notably finished the roughly 750-mile Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race in about 49 hours, a jaw-dropping accomplishment in 1895. Many historians consider that contest the first motorsport event ever organised.

For decades, Panhard stood proud as one of the most innovative car makers in France. It experimented with aerodynamic designs during the 1930s, but was forced to move downmarket in the aftermath of WW2.

It applied everything it learned since its inception to a range of smaller, more affordable cars spearheaded by the Dyna X introduced in 1946. Launched as a four-door, it was built with aluminium components to keep weight in check, and it was powered by an air-cooled flat-twin engine.

Panhard (cont.)

One of Panhard’s greatest hits was the Dyna Z unveiled in 1954 and evolved into the PL17 five years later. Roomy, efficient and aerodynamic it was an extremely modern car, but it couldn’t keep the company afloat on its own.

Low-volume models like the CD and the 24 boosted the firm’s image, yet they did little to increase profits. Panhard needed to expand into new segments, but it couldn’t afford to.

Trapped in dire financial straits, Panhard was absorbed by Citroën in 1965 and closed in 1967, though its factory made 2CV vans for a number of years. Panhard’s defence division built armoured military vehicles for several decades.

 2. Talbot (1903-1994)

While it’s often associated with the French car industry, Talbot traces its roots to England in 1903. It was founded as Clément-Talbot to manufacture French-designed Clément-Bayard cars on the other side of the Channel.

It then became Clément-Talbot-Darracq and morphed into STD Motors after purchasing Sunbeam. Italy entered the equation in 1934 when Antonio Lago took over the brand and renamed it Talbot-Lago.

The numerous naming changes didn’t sway the company’s focus on upmarket cars known for luxury, performance, or both. 

Although it built some of the quickest and most upscale cars in France, including a Lago Record for then-French president Vincent Auriol, Talbot struggled as standardisation spread across the car industry and cutting costs became more important than ever.

It stopped building its own engines in 1957 (it instead installed a BMW-sourced V8 in the Lago America) and it was taken over by Simca in 1958. The brand was consigned to the attic for the first time in 1960.

Talbot (cont.)

Talbot’s game of musical car makers didn’t end when it retired. Simca became part of Chrysler Europe in 1970, and PSA Peugeot-Citroën reluctantly purchased the group eight years later.

Talbot made an unexpected comeback in 1979, when it was resurrected to replace a number of former Chrysler brands in one fell swoop, including, somewhat ironically, Simca.

At the time, PSA executives explained they chose to bring back Talbot because the name was relatively well known in France and the UK.

Talbot (cont.)

Born-again Talbot suffered from an identity crisis; its cars were part Simca, part Chrysler and part Peugeot.

Some, like the Tagora, were developed specifically for the brand. Others, like the Samba (pictured), were related to (and overlapped with) models in the Peugeot and Citroën portfolio. Image is important in the new-car world, and this hotchpotch of a range failed to find buyers.

The final new car developed for the brand, a hatchback named Arizona, was cancelled at the last minute and launched as the Peugeot 309.

Talbot hadn’t said its last word yet, however. While the name disappeared from the French market in 1986, it soldiered on in the UK on a market-specific variant of the Peugeot J5 until 1994. Fittingly, the brand died where it was formed.

3. Salmson (1913-1962)

Founded as a manufacturer of aeroplane engines, Salmson stepped into the automotive industry in 1919 by building GN cyclecars under licence.

It began developing (and racing) cars designed in-house during the 1920s. Its road and race cars, like its planes, enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for reliability. The VAL3 notably won its class during the inaugural edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held in 1923.

Salmson stopped racing at the end of the 1920s and took a step towards the volume-oriented end of the industry. While it knew exactly what it took to win a race, competing against bigger and better-funded companies like Renault, Peugeot, Citroën and Simca proved to be a lot more challenging than Le Mans.

Salmson (cont.)

Salmson abandoned its mass-market aspirations and returned to the sports-car segment when it launched the 2300 S in 1953.

Offered in several variants, and raced across Europe, the model was well received by enthusiasts but it was too little, too late to turn the brand’s fortunes around.

About 227 units of the 2300 S were built until 1957. Salmson’s car-building arm closed shortly after.

4. Simca (1934-1980)

Fiat’s profitable French division indirectly morphed into Simca in 1934. Early on, the brand sold Fiat vehicles that it manufactured in France with several market-specific visual and mechanical changes.

One of the highlights from its pre-war roster of cars was the 5, which was twinned with the original Fiat 500. At the other end of the spectrum, the Simca-Fiat 11CV was a clone of the near-luxury Fiat 518.

Simca was heavily dependent on Fiat until it released the first-generation Aronde in 1951. The car was developed jointly with Fiat and related to the 1400 launched across the Alps a year earlier, but its design and its engine were brand-specific.

Many consider it the first real Simca. Crucially, it was the right car at the right time: it helped make Simca the second-best-selling car brand in France, behind Renault. Flush with cash, Simca purchased a controlling stake in Ford’s French division in 1954 and added a range of bigger cars to its line-up, though V8-powered saloons sold poorly in France.

Simca (cont.)

Chrysler began investing in Simca in 1958 while executives continued to work closely with Fiat, notably on an 850-derived saloon named 1000.

It had four doors, unlike its Italian cousin, and it spawned a family of Rallye-badged performance models (pictured) that were immensely popular on and off the track during the 1960s. 

Simca (cont.)

Simca surfed every wave that swept across the automotive industry, and it made a splash of its own when it launched the 1100 in 1967.

The model arrived with four doors, a large hatch, and a transversely mounted four-cylinder engine that spun the front wheels. It’s one of the models that set the template for the city car as we know it, and it’s remembered as one of Simca’s all-time best-sellers.

Simca split from Fiat when it joined Chrysler Europe in 1970. It was folded into PSA Peugeot-Citroën in 1978, and executives decided to phase out the name and bring Talbot back from the dead in 1979.

5. Matra (1941-2003)

Cars represented only a sliver of Matra’s activities. It manufactured a diverse selection of items including rocket launchers, satellites and swimming pools during its existence.

It jumped into the automotive industry when it saved Automobiles René Bonnet from an imminent collapse in 1964 and updated the Djet, a tiny two-seater powered by a mid-mounted engine and developed primarily for racing.

About 1700 units of the car (which was rebadged Jet in 1966, pictured) were built from 1963 to 1968.

Launched in 1967, the second Matra model was a sports car named 530 that was powered by a mid-mounted V4 engine sourced from the Ford Taunus. It was bigger and heavier than the Jet, and it offered a 2+2 cabin layout.

Around 9600 were made until 1973, a decent result for a company whose presence in the automotive industry was only a few years old, but far less than Matra hoped.

Matra (cont.)

Matra collaborated with Simca for its third model, the Bagheera. Released in 1973, it arrived with an aerodynamic design, a body made with composite materials and an unusual three-seater cabin.

Simca’s main contribution to the project was the 1100 Ti’s 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine, which was mounted transversely behind the passenger compartment in the Bagheera. Around 47,800 were built until 1980, when its replacement, the Murena, made its debut with Talbot-Matra badging.

Matra’s racing efforts were successful during the 1970s, but executives spotted an opportunity to venture outside the performance world and into the booming leisure vehicle market. It cleverly transformed the Simca VF2, a small van based on the 1100, into a soft-roader named Rancho (pictured).

Matra (cont.)

Stylists envisioned the Rancho’s replacement as a tall people-mover with a monobox silhouette. Simca was dead, so Matra tried selling the project to Peugeot, who turned it down.

It instead ran it by Renault, who quickly accepted it and transformed it into the original Espace released in 1984.

Matra also developed and built the second and third generations of the Espace, and the short-lived Avantime.

Matra’s various business units were either closed or sold during the 1990s and 2000s. Pininfarina took over its car-building arm in 2003 and sold it to engineering firm Segula Technologies in 2009.

6. Facel Vega (1954-1964)

Formed in December 1939, three months into WW2, Facel pivoted from making aeroplane parts to designing and manufacturing bodies for luxury cars at the end of the conflict. It notably rebodied Simca, Panhard and Bentley models.

The first car it developed in-house was presented in 1954 as the Vega built by Facel; it became known as the Facel Vega FV1 the following year. It took the form of a stately 2+2 coupé powered by a De Soto Hemi V8 and aimed at Europe’s wealthiest motorists.

Facel Vega (cont.)

The year 1956 brought the Excellence (pictured), the only four-door model built during Facel Vega’s short existence.

Its front end fell in line with the firm’s coupés, but it received a set of rear-hinged back doors and a lavishly appointed cabin. Power came from a Chrysler-sourced V8; designing an engine in-house was ruled out early in the project for cost reasons.

Facel Vega chased prestige, not volume. About 153 examples of the Excellence were built from 1958 until 1964, and famous owners included actress Ava Gardner.

Facel Vega (cont.)

Facel Vega boss Jean Daninos (1906-2001) directed the brand towards the small sports car segment dominated by Alfa Romeo and Porsche when he requested a smaller, entry-level model powered by a four-cylinder engine.

Called Facellia (pictured), it made its debut in 1960, but its launch was marred by a number of mechanical failures that often required an engine replacement. While 1045 were built until production ended in 1963, the damage done to the brand’s image and finances was irreparable.

Facel Vega closed in October 1964 after building approximately 2900 cars. It remains dormant – efforts to revive the brand have been unsuccessful.

7. Venturi (1984-2000)

Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy formed Venturi while working for French coachbuilder Heuliez.

Both had a vast amount of experience in the automotive industry, so they managed to build a prototype in time for the 1984 edition of the Paris auto show. It turned every head in the convention centre, and businessman Hervé Boulan was so impressed that he offered to help fund the model’s development. 

Called simply Coupé, the first Venturi was built from 1987-1992 with a mid-mounted turbocharged V6 also found in the Alpine A610, one of its most direct rivals. It was initially well received in France and abroad, but sales collapsed; adding a more powerful model to the range in 1989 wasn’t enough.

Venturi tried elevating its image by racing at Le Mans from 1993-’95, although it didn’t win. It also launched a one-make racing series called the Venturi 400 Trophy and released additional models during the 1990s, including the race-derived 400GT and the gorgeous 300 Atlantique (pictured).

Venturi (cont.)

Venturi’s first close call came in 1996, when it was bailed out by Thailand-based luxury car importer Nakarin Benz. Attempts to rejuvenate the brand were costly but ineffective, and the first chapter in its story ended in 2000. Approximately 550 cars were built.

It still operates in 2021. No longer a sports-car manufacturer, and now based in Monaco, it develops EVs for regions with extreme climates (like Antarctica) as well as powertrain components.

8. Hommell (1992-2008)

Enthusiasts, not investors, pushed Hommell onto the automotive scene. In 1991, French automotive media tycoon Michel Hommell ran a poll in Echappement magazine that asked readers what the sports car of their dreams looked like.

Few were surprised that a majority of the feedback received sketched the outline of a modern-day version of the Alpine A110. Instead of merely publishing a rendering of it in the next issue, Hommell decided to create a car company and build it.

Presented in 1992, the Hommell Echappement arrived as a light, back-to-the-basics coupé powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-litre engine borrowed from the Peugeot 405 Mi16.

The four-cylinder spun the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission; in many ways, the Echappement was the missing link between the A110 and the first-generation Lotus Elise launched in 1996.

Hommell (cont.)

Just 69 examples of the Echappement were built between 1993 and 1999, plus 52 of a roadster named Barquette. Two evolutions of the Echappement (made in 63 and 56 units, respectively) were released, too, yet Hommell never reached profitability.

Its cars were street-legal in France and homologation costs far outweighed the revenue made from selling a small handful of vehicles each year.

While it could have become France’s answer to Lotus, Hommell struggled to stay afloat in the early 2000s and stopped building cars in 2003. Chinese investors tried purchasing the rights to build the company’s cars in 2005, but an agreement was not reached. Hommell was shuttered in 2008.