Used Talbot
Talbot was an auto manufacturer with a particularly chequered history. During the years it was active, the company produced an array of cars, some of which were very popular indeed. It’s a classic brand that holds a particular charm even though it became defunct many years ago.
Started in 1903, Talbot was originally used as a launch pad on which to sell a French brand of car. In 1906 the company began producing its own unique brand in 1909 and promptly became the holder of an early land speed record.
In parallel but quite separately in 1919, the French version of Talbot known as Darracq formed an alliance with Sunbeam to become known as STD. This company would play a part later in the British version’s history.
In the 1920s and 30s, several successful models were released, including the 105 and Ten Tourer. It wasn’t long before Talbots were used for racing and victories came in an array of disciplines, especially Alpine Trial events.
Thanks to a merger, in 1938 Sunbeam-Talbot was created, but following the Second World War the Talbot name was dropped. STD was also having trouble in France and both the British and French companies were joined together under ownership by Rootes. Subsequent models included the 1948 T150SS Coupe, T6 Record Coach and T26 which were elegant and stylish in equal measure. Down the line, Rootes was purchased by Chrysler in 1967.
Under new management, the Chrysler based Talbot 1510 and Solara were created, but then Peugeot took over in 1978 and brought back the Talbot proper brand. It was during this period that the Avenger, Samba and Tagora were produced, although the latter was unpopular and ceased to exist from 1983 onwards. A bit of re-branding then occurred with the Alpine and Solara, as they became the Minx and Rapier respectively. The brand was axed altogether in 1992.
What is abundantly clear is that early models of Talbot were actually very good and had that certain something that was common with British autos at the time- a classic elegance that was understated but striking at the same time. Later models abandoned this entirely and instead turned out to be cheap knockoffs of whatever parent company was in control. Quite a fall from grace.
However it’s still possible to find a good selection of used Talbot cars for sale at Motors.co.uk and while originals are quite rare they do still exist. Modern variants are more common and are ideal for those people looking for something ultra cheap and don’t care about design.
Talbot is a brand of many faces, but one that deserves its place in history nonetheless.