Puzzle #109 - Solved! Talbot (Simca) Star Six

[grobmotorix]

The name also appeared in these old magazine scans.

Well, judging the typo this magazine is not older than from the 1990´s.
That´s a long time after the car´s premiere...

[Otto Puzzell]

The car was shown at Salon de l'Automobile de Paris, in 1959

[Avalanche]

The car was shown at Salon de l'Automobile de Paris, in 1959

Thanks for clarifying that. I'm still at a loss as to the reluctance to call this car what it really is. It's clear the man that designed and built the car called it the Exner Simca Special. Do we need more proof than that?

[oko94]

This Exner-designed Simca Special was displayed at the 1959 Paris motor show under the name "Talbot Star Six", mainly for two reasons :
- Simca wanted to promote its new Aronde Etoile Six model, so they gave the "Star Six" moniker to Exner's special, as "Star Six" is the English translation of "Etoile Six". It was a bit of a lie : the Star Six had nothing in common with the Aronde Etoile Six as it was based on an older Simca 8.
- Simca had just bought Talbot, and the Talbot brand was more prestigious than Simca

All in all, both Exner Simca Special and Talbot Star Six are perfectly valid names : the former is how the car was conceived, the latter is how the car was advertised to the French audience.

Here you can see both Talbot Star Six and Simca Aronde Etoile Six on a small "Simca-Talbot" display at the 1959 Paris motor show.