Designed by Roy Axe and engineered in France at Poissy by Simca as a replacement for their ageing 1100 range — as well as the Hillman Avenger.

The Horizon was intended to be a "world car" designed for consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, but in execution, the European and North American versions of the vehicle differed substantially.

Born largely out of the need to replace the ageing Simca 1100 and Hillman Avenger, the Horizon was essentially a shortened version of the larger Alpine model, giving the vehicle an unusually wide track for its length.

Featuring transversely mounted Simca-designed 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5-litre "Poissy" OHV engines, 4-speed gearboxes, and torsion-bar suspension, the Horizon was praised for its crisp styling, supple ride, and competent handling.

The SX version which joined the range for the Paris Motor Show, in October 1978, attracted interest for its innovative trip computer.

To fill this niche, the Simca 1100 remained on sale in continental Europe, while the rear-wheel drive Chrysler Sunbeam was sold alongside the Horizon in the United Kingdom until 1981.

By then however, the Horizon was becoming increasingly uncompetitive next to rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf (which was actually four years older), Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra and third generation Ford Escort.

The unrefined overhead-valve engines carried over from the Simca 1100 were largely to blame, while body corrosion was a serious issue – at least until the Series II – giving many cars a short service life.

[7] British manufacture commenced on 4 January 1982, and soon thereafter the Ryton plant was working a full five-day week for the first time in sixteen months.

Its successor was the Peugeot 309, a car developed in the UK and launched towards the end of 1985, originally destined to be sold as the Talbot Arizona.

[3] Soon thereafter, however, it started to lose sales in a segment dominated by an increasing number of newer models including the Ford Escort Mark III, Vauxhall Astra, and Austin Maestro.

[11] Based on the Talbot Horizon, the car was fitted with a mid-mounted Lotus type 911 engine driving the rear wheels.

External bodywork was in fact not interchangeable, nor were engines, North American models using a larger engine (of VW, then PSA origins on the early versions, replaced by Chrysler's own 2.2L OHC "Trenton" I-4 later) and MacPherson strut suspension at the front instead of the more complex torsion bar system found in the European version.

Despite the car's European origins, then Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca played this down, emphasizing that features such as the trip computer and electronic ignition, of American design.