Concepts and prototypes : Projet 929

After launching the ultra-successful SIMCA 1100, the French knuckled down to producing a new big car. It was christened Projet 929.

Following Chrysler’s takeover of SIMCA, it was decided that either Projet 929 or Whitley’s C Car project would become Chrysler Europe’s definitive large car. In the end, Chrysler’s management decided that the British effort was the preferable option and so, cancelled Projet 929. However, the engineering of C Car was taken over by the French, which alienated Rootes engineers anyway. SIMCA engineers had also been alienated by the cancellation of Projet 929 in the first place…


Projet 929 Styling proposals

929 XA: SIMCA's in-house style was pleasing, if a little anonymous... overtones of PSA's later Peugeot 604 perhaps?
929 XA: SIMCA’s in-house style was pleasing, if a little anonymous… overtones of PSA’s later Peugeot 604 perhaps?
929 XB: This was Bertone's effort - a derivative design, but quite pleasing and characterful nontheless.
929 XB: This was Bertone’s effort – a derivative design, but quite pleasing and characterful nontheless.
929 XC: Chrysler Detroit's proposal represented a simple downscale of current American thinking...
929 XC: Chrysler Detroit’s proposal represented a simple downscale of current American thinking…

Pictures kindly suppled by Roy Axe.

10 Comments

  1. I’ll take XC please (followed by XA if not available). I love that crisp, Plymouth inspired styling and its boot panel and rear lights are just superb.

    XB just looks too “generic 60’s BMW” for my tastes.

    Any front end shots?

  2. The XA looks just as American to me as the XC. That integrated bumper and slim taillamps are pretty “New Yorker” to me, and the tunneled backlight is like a Charger. The XC does have a better Coke bottle shape and a rear panel similar to a Plymouth Barracuda. XB doesn’t have any one particular feature to recommend it, but I think it was best for the market just by looking the most European of the three.

  3. The XB looks like it would have dated better than the others had it gone into production, btw do any front-end pictures exist for the 929 prototypes?

  4. The XC would have sat well alongside Vauxhall’s 1967 Victor (or ’66 Viva), but would have looked a little dated by ’71/’72.

  5. The XA has a few Mk4 Zypher hints, while the XC does look late 1960s Vauxhall, with more radical tail lights.

    Certainly the XB looks a bit more European, with vibed of the NSU Ro80.

  6. XB for me. Needed a little tidying up here and there, esp those rear lights.

    And hopefully no horribly ancient tappetty horror under the bonnet…

  7. XA or XC they look crisp, bequtifully angular and handsome, the XB was ugly and bland at the same time, typically Italian…

  8. Unlike another designer was responsible for. Is it possible Mario Revelli di Beaumont was the one who styled the Simca 929 XA proposal, because it is claimed he was involved with other projects with Pininfarina from 1963 and the Bertone styled 929 XB proposal was dated to 1965?

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