Present on the market since the late 1970s, its run ended at the end of the 1980s. In more or less a decade it had time to become Car of the Year in Europe a couple of times (1979 and 1981). Yes, we are talking about the Talbot Horizon… although today we will not focus on the compact, but on a version that was only sold in the North of the Old Continent: the Talbot Horizonzon.
The Talbot Horizon was the response that the Chrysler Group gave to the Volkswagen Golf in 1977, three years after the German compact revolutionized the segment. It was produced in many countries: from the United Kingdom to the United States, passing through France and, also, Spain. It arrived in our country in 1980 and used the base of the Simca 1,200 to offer two versions: LS (59 CV) and GLS (83 CV).
The Talbot Horizon in Finland
Among the European countries chosen by Chrysler for the Talbot Horizon to try to win the game against the Volkswagrn Golf was Finland… where he led a ‘double life’ Thanks to a few transformations. The most impressive, probably, is the one that turned it into a seven-door vehicle that was baptized as the Talbot Horizonzon!
In Finland, the local company that was in charge of assembling the Talbot Horizon was called Valmet. Or rather: Valmet-Saab. In fact, its main activity was to produce, in its factory located in the coastal city of Uusikaupunki, some of the Swedish manufacturer’s vehicles because its industrial capacities were limited.
Valmet extras
The Talbot Horizon came in kit form for Valmet to shape… and it didn’t take long to add some specific features to it such as an anti-corrosion treatment adapted to the harsh Scandinavian climate or electrical systems signed by Saab. Some of these modifications took the compact to another level.
Valmet conceived some creations that became limousines intended to be used as shuttle cars with which to transfer travelers (and their luggage) to airports. That same formula was the one that, in 1981, he applied to the Talbot Horizon. He stretched it out enough to add one more door on each side, thus increasing the number of entrances to seven (including the tailgate) to the passenger compartment The interior also had three rows of seats and, contrary to what is usual in many limousines, the two rear ones were not facing each other.
However, Valmet’s plans for the Talbot Horizonzon did not have the expected success and the prototype became a unique model. The Finnish manufacturer could have continued to give its touch to the Talbot Horizon if the history of the compact had been longer. Not in vain, in 1984, the research and development teams were working on a restyling with which they imagined a more muscular coupé design, equipped with aerodynamic wheels, spoilers and a spoiler in the purest spirit of Group B. They did not have time to materialize it because the Talbot Horizon wrote its final point in 1986.
Images: Valmet Automotive
