What an incredible car! This original, unrestored 1960 Simca Aronde P60 Élysée is in Careywood, Idaho and is a French capsule temporelle (time capsule). It’s listed on eBay with an unmet opening bid of $4,999 and no buy it now price. This thing is incredible in its perfection and originality.
In 1958, the P60 sedans were introduced by Simca at the Paris Motor Show with a more modern look than the preceeding 90A sedans. This beautiful Indian Red car has only traveled 13,141 miles since it was made, that’s incredible given the absolutely breathtaking condition that this car is in.
This car is almost perfect, it looks like it’s had a nut and bolt restoration to me but supposedly it’s all original. Well, other than the new wide whitewall bias-ply tires and the seller also installed seatbelts for a bit of added safety. They also mention that they have added a new battery and a new replacement fuel tank. But, other than that, apparently the rest of this beauty is as it came from the factory.
I don’t mean to keep going overboard on how nice this car is, but, this car is sooo nice! This interior is fantastic, that funky-cool fabric is perfect on the seats and door panels. The trunk also looks great. The seller doesn’t mention any rust or anything else wrong with this car at all.
This is the “Rush” 1,290 cc (1.3L) four-cylinder with 48 hp. That’s not a lot of horsepower but it helps to have a 4-speed manual transmission to eke as much of that power out as possible. I think this car is fantastic. The condition is almost as nice as a restored car would be, other than maybe some detailing work needed under the engine compartment. Are there any French car fans out there?
I wouldn’t be surprised if this one actually was original. That slightly muted paint shine and those factory upholstery fabrics are pretty hard to duplicate. If everything is true, probably a bargain.
I repainted a Peugeot 404 wagon on my driveway a few years ago, using an HVLP gun and maroon Rustoleum from the hardware store. After everything dried and settled in, it had a muted semi-shine not unlike this. I wasn’t specifically going for that look, but I actually liked how it turned out. It was an unexpectedly interesting result, though I probably wouldn’t do it again.
One minor point, Scotty: the seller claims this has the “Flash” engine, not the “Rush.” No, I don’t know the difference!
Looks amazingly original. Hard to imagine duplicating the look (and feel) of those French plastics accurately in a restoration. Of course it’s also difficult to imagine anyone shelling out the kind of money it would take to return the car to its current state if it was not original.
There aren’t enough of these bizarre French rides around anymore. Wish I had the time and space to start a collection!
Good catch, RayT. I saw that they had it listed as a “Flash” engine, and apparently they were put in these cars up until around October of 1960, so you are correct. I was afraid to Google the word “Flash”.. (kidding).. Thanks for reading so thoroughly!
I saw this last nigh, I have a soft spot (hmmm, maybe a soft head) for Simca’s so I wrote to the seller through eBay. He has yet to give me a reply. I don’t trust sellers I can’t talk to – the only times I’ve been ripped off by eBay vehicle sellers have been those times I’ve bought without having an honest to gosh conversation with the seller. I do hope this guy is on the up and up and responds. While I’ve owned quite a few Ferrari and Rolls-Royce automobiles, for me, it all started with a Simca Aronde.
A Gaullic Chevy? – the French equivalent of the Hillman Minx or Morris Minor, sans the electric problems of the Prince of Darkness and inventor of intermittent wipers – boring but probably reliable transportation and a step up from a Citroen 2CV or Renault 4CV/Dauphine. Still, it would be interesting to understand the backstory behind its survival in what looks like immaculate condition.
Wonder what the reserve is?
Darn nice car. Probably quite slow, but who cares with a car like this.
John, I’m guessing that the price is the reserve. Here is the same car listed on another site: http://saleofcar.com/other-makes-aron/0133699
Sorry Scotty, But this site is simply parroting the eBay listing. It’s not a separate sales site.
The price guide (cote) of La Vie de L’Auto (France) lists what should be the value of a good Simca P60 Elysée @ €5,000. But I suspect in this case the value for a low milage original is closer to that of “good” Grand Large (2 door hardtop) €8500. Will not be surprised if the seller is looking for $10k or something near or even above (wishful thinking – methinks) that.
LVA-Auto online:
http://www.lva-auto.fr/cote.php?idMarque=MA83&idModele=MO352&rechercheType=1
I like original automobiles, but hate the stench of tobacco, perfume (for men and women) so the red pine tree air “freshner” (?) is a major red (no pun intended) flag for those sensitive to such oders.
My last Simca was a 62 rear-engined sedan “1000” that was one of the most reliable cars I’ve ever owned. They also got the balance right, so driving too fast on the mountain roads I drove on was fun, not frightening or unpredictable. The Aronde was bigger and more conventional and you hardly ever saw them come up for sale in the 60’s and 70’s – let alone now. Someone with a little extra cash needs to keep this one out of the hands of the cursed revisionists!
I had a 1000 also, but mine was built in ’64. Can’t say it was either reliable nor a well balanced car – I managed to put it on it’s roof in a parking lot. But sure had a lot of fun with it. Finally blew the motor up in a blaze of glory on the Ventura Freeway when a rod went through the block, knocking the starter motor onto the muffler. The battery cable was arcing on the exhaust, hot oil was whipped out the engine by the spinning crank where it vaporized upon hitting the hot exhaust, and the arcing battery cable ignited it! So, when I say a blaze of glory, I meant that literally! Vive’ la France!
Looks alot like my 59 Hillman Minx and for good reason. It’s pretty much the same car. The Roots Group.
Oops! Sounds like what my brother did to my 58 Volvo wagon (but without the fire part)!
Elle est tellement mignonne!
Congrats Scotty for the proper translation in there (coming from a French-Canadian). Wishing it was in NY, ME or VT!
Blueprint, Je suis d’accord avec vous, il est une voiture mignonne!
Bien sur, mais d’etre correct, c’est “elle est une…”
I reckon buy this up and readvertise in France. Here are a couple of similar ones, but not so colorful, the last is not as nice as the American one and 8,000 euros.
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/970113593.htm?ca=2_s
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/961803491.htm?ca=2_s
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/968121282.htm?ca=2_s
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/894310347.htm?ca=2_s
@nessy, Simca was not related to the Rootes Group at the time this car was made. That came later, when Chrysler swallowed up both. But your point is a good one: both manufacturers turned out thousands of solid if somewhat boring mid-class sedans. The Minx and the Aronde were direct competitors. This Simca really does look original to me and I wonder about its story. I hope the buyer is up front with prospects. I drive a 1960 Panhard, and many more buyers chose Simca in ’60 as in other years, taking solidity and dependability over the great handling combined with temperamental technical wizardry that one would get with a Panhard. I really hope this car finds a sympathetic home.
When I was a kid, my folks bought a powder blue Aronde P60 that, other than the color, was a copy of what was in our garage. My recollection is that it was quite reliable, though our Plymouth dealer (Bill Binko) had to order a carburetor rebuild kit (Solex) in France. I don’t recall how long it took to get it, or whether the car was out of service. We had the car from about 1962 to 1968, when it was replaced by an off-rental ’67 Plymouth Barracuda 2-door hardtop (2-barrel 273 and Torqueflite).
It was a tough beast, too. My mother was stopped at an intersection waiting to make a left turn when a station wagon loaded with screaming kids plowed into the back of the Simca. The impact pushed the car out into the intersection and did little to improve my mother’s already “difficult” disposition. She got a pretty nasty whiplash out of it, but nothing else. The trunk got a big dent, so my brother was assigned the task of finding a junkyard that had a P60 with an intact trunk. One was found in MIami (we lived in Fort Lauderdale), and so my brother and I made the drive to the junkyard where the replacement trunk lid was placed in the back of our ’63 Mercury Colony Park’s tailgate area.
I can recall with great glee the “interesting” words my parents would utter when attempting to locate Reverse on the four-speed column shifter. Almost as annoying was the turn signal. It was that little tab on top of the steering column. It didn’t have a self-cancelling feature. Instead, it worked on a timer, so at a long light, I often heard a few more “interesting” words when whichever of my parents was driving had to flip the directionals tab over yet again (they were law-abiding folks who believed in the power of using turn signals, unlike so many in S. Florida who saw using turn signals as an affront to their masculinity–or femininity).
I do miss that car.
My folks had a 1958 Aronde that, apparently, was the last year of the older body style…it is the car learned to drive in. The turnsignals were the most annoying thing in the world if you used them while sitting at a stop light…I waited for the light to change and then put them on…the self cancelling feature of course let them stay on for the next couple of blocks just to make sure we confused anybody behind us :). Push in and down on the gear shift for Reverse…and 4 on the tree was something no one in America really knew existed much before the French did it I suppose. Anyway, my dad loved his little Simca and it served him well for many years and coincidentally, he also sold it to buy a 1967 Barracuda hardtop coupe, 273 2 barrel, automatic.
Wow. I feel like I’m living in a parallel universe. Please, don’t tell me that your Barracuda was white! I got my driver’s license driving the Plymouth. It was that or the ’68 Mercury Colony Park (which replaced the ’63)…
Re: the column shifter… My parents traded the Simca when I was 14, so I never had a chance to try the shifter with the car running. When safely in the garage with the engine off and parking brake set, I tried to duplicate the movements my parents made when trying to locate reverse, sans profanity, and may have lucked into it once or twice.
I read a report somewhere that the plastics used on the dash (the glovebox door in particular) were highly susceptible to shattering in extreme cold weather–something we didn’t need to worry about in sunny Fort Lauderdale.
Whew, that was close….Dad’s Barracuda was bright red. We lived in the SF Bay Area of California so cold to us was 50 degrees or so…not cold enough to shatter plastic fortunately. Enjoy the memories.
Like the car. Hood and roof look slightly different in color than sides and truck (repaint?). Anyone know what the little jar on the firewall holds? Not wiper fluid, there’s a bag for that.
Sunburn!
I think it’s the brake fluid bottle.
I’ve seen this car, and it is as represented, looks feels smells original. I covet it; out of my reach though at this time. $8500-10k would not be too much, originals are thin on the ground.
Interesting mix of responses regarding reliability of these cars. This one looks beautiful, but if my experience is anything to go by, I would wonder how I could possibly have gotten as many as 13,000 miles on it in 55 years! LD71 :D
How the heck did this end up in Careywood? That’s near my old stomping grounds of Sandpoint. They have a car show every May there called Lost in the 50s. Used to display my Mustang there in high school and college.
Update: not sold at a high bid of $6,114.16.