The Simca Poissy engine, commonly known as the Simca 1100 engine, was a four-cylinder Overhead valve engine developed by Simca for use in its superminis and economy cars, designed by the engineer Georges Martin (V12 Matra Sports engine designer). In spite of its common name, the engine actually predates the Simca 1100 model, and debuted in 1961 in the Simca 1000 Coupé. It was developed and produced by Simca (subsequently rebranded as Talbot) in the late 1960s at the manufacturer's factory in Poissy, hence its name.
The engine was first designed in a form, but was reduced and stretched in order to be used in a variety of models and versions, by Simca, the Rootes Group (its partner company in Chrysler Europe), Simca's final incarnation Talbot and its last parent company Peugeot, who used it until 1991 in its midsize model, the 309. The engine existed in displacements ranging from , the biggest one on both sides of the Atlantic, powering the United States-market Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon.
Peugeot eventually dropped the engines, replacing them with their own TU family.
Poissy engine
The Poissy engine was introduced in 1961 in the Simca 1000, a small four-door saloon car. It featured a displacement of and had an initial output of , which would be increased over the years to a maximum of on the base model. The following year, the 315 was used for the first time in a two-door sports model, the Simca 1000 Coupé, in a tuned form, with .
The overhead valve engine Type 315 was a modern unit, with a water-cooled inline design with forged crankshaft, alloy cross-flow head and five main bearings. An unusual feature on early models was the absence of a spin-on paper oil filter. Instead, the engine featured a form of centrifugal oil filter in the hollow rear crankshaft pulley, although all later versions used the more traditional disposable cartridge filters. One of its major innovations was the use of a swirl vortex on the intake valve port which gave very good combustion, and thus both power and economy for this time. This engine proved cheap to build, and several models of different sizes and market segments used this displacement, which survived until 1982, as the ever-present entry level for the Simca 1100.
In later life however, when it was installed in cars such as the Horizon and 1307/Alpine/Solara the Poissy engine was criticized for its poor mechanical refinement - in particular for its excessive tappet noise, something which led to poor press reviews. It survived as the entry level engine in the Peugeot 309 until 1991.
Smaller variants
The Poissy engine was reduced a few times, although it didn't have much use apart from the early and more compact models. In 1964, Simca developed an version for the Spanish market 1000, as cars over 0.9 L were in a higher tax bracket. This variant existed in two output levels, the most powerful of which, and two single-barrel carburetors, which increased power to . An even more economic version was created for the entire European market in late 1968, with only . These displacements were used in the Simca 1000 up to 1978.
Larger variants
In 1968, another version was created for the Spanish market, the displacement. This was the first sporty version of the 1000, with power rising to . A double-barrel carburetor was then used in the Simca 1200 S, a coupé designed by Bertone, and the CG sports car, and could reach . The regular version was later used in various models around the European market, and was even installed in the US-market version of the Simca 1100, known as the Simca 1204. It was in use until 1978.
The variant appeared in 1967, initially in the 1100 and then in the 1000. This proved to be one of the most popular displacements of the 315 engines, powering the LCV version of the 1100, known as VF2, and the Talbot Horizon's entry level version. It survived until 1991, when it was used as the base model to the Peugeot 309.
The variant debuted in 1972, and although it wasn't very popular in the 1000, it continued to be used in various Simca and Talbot models. It was famous in racing circles, by being used to power the Simca Rallye 2, a sporty version of the 1000 introduced in 1972, with two double-barrel carburetors and a maximum power of . Racing versions could be tuned well in excess of , and the three generations of the Simca Rallye using this engine are still used throughout Europe, especially France, in various national rally championships for classic cars and non-homologated cars.