Talbot Tagora SX
Discussion
Great thread. I have a couple of early brochures on them. Blue grey wallpaper embossed. They didn't feature the SX at launch in 1981. That came later.
I loved the square styling which makes a Volvo 700 look curvy and sleek. The chiselled line along the side and flared arches make me wonder if they ever during the design phase tried to make it look like a big Horizon.
As a kid, I had a taxi take me to school. The firm we used had a fleet of these. The owner got them cheap. I guess they were basic GL models, not many toys but vast inside with acres of seating and a hi-tech dash.
As a 12 year old I remember feeling very important being ferried around in them. Slighly better than the massive Pug 504 estates he had for airport runs. They certainly beat the Hunters, Cortinas, and FSO s that they also ran.
I loved the square styling which makes a Volvo 700 look curvy and sleek. The chiselled line along the side and flared arches make me wonder if they ever during the design phase tried to make it look like a big Horizon.
As a kid, I had a taxi take me to school. The firm we used had a fleet of these. The owner got them cheap. I guess they were basic GL models, not many toys but vast inside with acres of seating and a hi-tech dash.
As a 12 year old I remember feeling very important being ferried around in them. Slighly better than the massive Pug 504 estates he had for airport runs. They certainly beat the Hunters, Cortinas, and FSO s that they also ran.
Saw an immaculate white ine at the NEC Classic car show in November.
I was there with 3 friends ranging from 33 to 44 and 60. My pal who was 33 had never seen one before and was fascinated. My 44 year old friend, the same age as me remembered them from childhood and my friend who is 60 and a retired traffic cop told us some horror stories from when they had a couple from Talbot for evaluation back in the early 80s. They just fell to bits but he said the engines were great and he too was a fan of the Peugeot suspension.
Something I loved about them as a kid was that they were easy to draw. In 1981 when I was. 10 or 11 myself and my mate Andrew decided we'd "design" a car together.
With rulers and set squares we penned the Talbot Talisman as we called it. It looked like a Tagora. It had a Rover V8 or Jag V12 engine depending in how expensive you wanted it to be. We designed an estate version which featured I seem to recall a rased roof line with glass in it. Clearly Land Rover stole our idea 8 years later for their Discovery. The bds!
Talking of the Discovery, we developed a Matra Rancho-esque V8 engined version of our Tagora with proper four wheel drive and of course movable spotlights on the wings. Again spies from Solihull must have got hold of our sketches and used them as inspiration for Project Jay. How else could they have got it from design to production in 18 months or whatever it was?
Happy days!
:-)
I was there with 3 friends ranging from 33 to 44 and 60. My pal who was 33 had never seen one before and was fascinated. My 44 year old friend, the same age as me remembered them from childhood and my friend who is 60 and a retired traffic cop told us some horror stories from when they had a couple from Talbot for evaluation back in the early 80s. They just fell to bits but he said the engines were great and he too was a fan of the Peugeot suspension.
Something I loved about them as a kid was that they were easy to draw. In 1981 when I was. 10 or 11 myself and my mate Andrew decided we'd "design" a car together.
With rulers and set squares we penned the Talbot Talisman as we called it. It looked like a Tagora. It had a Rover V8 or Jag V12 engine depending in how expensive you wanted it to be. We designed an estate version which featured I seem to recall a rased roof line with glass in it. Clearly Land Rover stole our idea 8 years later for their Discovery. The bds!
Talking of the Discovery, we developed a Matra Rancho-esque V8 engined version of our Tagora with proper four wheel drive and of course movable spotlights on the wings. Again spies from Solihull must have got hold of our sketches and used them as inspiration for Project Jay. How else could they have got it from design to production in 18 months or whatever it was?
Happy days!
:-)
danoli777 said:
williamp said:
you might want to have a look in next months classic & sportscar magazine...
Do tell.... wildcat45 said:
Saw an immaculate white ine at the NEC Classic car show in November.
I was there with 3 friends ranging from 33 to 44 and 60. My pal who was 33 had never seen one before and was fascinated. My 44 year old friend, the same age as me remembered them from childhood and my friend who is 60 and a retired traffic cop told us some horror stories from when they had a couple from Talbot for evaluation back in the early 80s. They just fell to bits but he said the engines were great and he too was a fan of the Peugeot suspension.
Something I loved about them as a kid was that they were easy to draw. In 1981 when I was. 10 or 11 myself and my mate Andrew decided we'd "design" a car together.
With rulers and set squares we penned the Talbot Talisman as we called it. It looked like a Tagora. It had a Rover V8 or Jag V12 engine depending in how expensive you wanted it to be. We designed an estate version which featured I seem to recall a rased roof line with glass in it. Clearly Land Rover stole our idea 8 years later for their Discovery. The bds!
Talking of the Discovery, we developed a Matra Rancho-esque V8 engined version of our Tagora with proper four wheel drive and of course movable spotlights on the wings. Again spies from Solihull must have got hold of our sketches and used them as inspiration for Project Jay. How else could they have got it from design to production in 18 months or whatever it was?
Happy days!
:-)
I always thought the Discovery was very inspired by the styling of the Matro Rancho.I was there with 3 friends ranging from 33 to 44 and 60. My pal who was 33 had never seen one before and was fascinated. My 44 year old friend, the same age as me remembered them from childhood and my friend who is 60 and a retired traffic cop told us some horror stories from when they had a couple from Talbot for evaluation back in the early 80s. They just fell to bits but he said the engines were great and he too was a fan of the Peugeot suspension.
Something I loved about them as a kid was that they were easy to draw. In 1981 when I was. 10 or 11 myself and my mate Andrew decided we'd "design" a car together.
With rulers and set squares we penned the Talbot Talisman as we called it. It looked like a Tagora. It had a Rover V8 or Jag V12 engine depending in how expensive you wanted it to be. We designed an estate version which featured I seem to recall a rased roof line with glass in it. Clearly Land Rover stole our idea 8 years later for their Discovery. The bds!
Talking of the Discovery, we developed a Matra Rancho-esque V8 engined version of our Tagora with proper four wheel drive and of course movable spotlights on the wings. Again spies from Solihull must have got hold of our sketches and used them as inspiration for Project Jay. How else could they have got it from design to production in 18 months or whatever it was?
Happy days!
:-)
It was a car two decades ahead of its time in concept. Old Simca engine aside it was everything a lifestyle estate soft reader or SUV is today. And yes it must have been in the sights of Land Rover.
But that was Matra - ahead of the game the Espace being another trailblazer.
I am surprised Peugeot never revived the Rancho name and put it on a spacious rugged looking car based platform. Or better still, build a new model in 1985 or whenever it was they stopped production. I guess there was a contractual reason.
But that was Matra - ahead of the game the Espace being another trailblazer.
I am surprised Peugeot never revived the Rancho name and put it on a spacious rugged looking car based platform. Or better still, build a new model in 1985 or whenever it was they stopped production. I guess there was a contractual reason.
Geotuson said:
hi all, i have been given two Talbot Tagona's GLS in fairly good condition of which have been lock up in a garage since year 2000,,can some one give a aprox price what theses cars fetch due to rarity...as soon possibly to go to auction..many thanks
Impossible to estimate, but what are the chances of finding 2 people who want one, at the same auction, prepared to pay more than £500 for one?Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff