I have never seen: #1 Talbot Tagora (1981-1983).

The first in a series of ramblings about cars I have never, EVER seen in real life but would love to. Not rare race cars, not supercars and not stuff we didn't see in the UK. These posts are dedicated to ordinary cars that roamed the streets in the retro-era yet have somehow eluded my eyes. Maybe I'll see one at a show, maybe I'll spot one lurking in a driveway somewhere. Who knows?

Number 1: The Talbot Tagora.




A big, bland, boxy, forgettable "executive" saloon from Talbot. An utter disaster for the company, they sold so badly that production stopped after two years. Who can be surprised? Looks like a scaled-up Solara and zero road presence. Not ideal for a company exec looking to make himself seen in a world of Granadas and Rover SD1s. The only interesting styling features are the squared-off arches. The interior is utterly dull, vast expanses of plastic and flimsy controls.

There were three main versions, a 2.2, 2.3 diesel and 2.6 V6.

If I'm going to see one, I want it to be the V6, just under 1100 were made. I bet there are less than a handful left! 19,400 Tagoras were made in total, Chrysler were hoping to shift three times that many in a year. No wonder I have never seen one, nobody bought them.

Not a bad car, just not good enough against the competition at the time.