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55-638: The Talbot Samba is a city car manufactured by the PSA Group in the former Simca factory in Poissy , France , and marketed under the short-lived modern-day Talbot brand from 1981 to 1986. Based on the Peugeot 104 , it and the Talbot Express were the only Talbots not inherited from Chrysler Europe , engineered by PSA alone. It was also the last new Talbot car to be launched. Its demise in 1986

110-559: A hood scoop and side stripes. In 1984, a version with the 1360 cc unit producing 59 kilowatt (80 PS) was launched, without the stripes. A special rallye-only Group B model, officially called the Peugeot Talbot Sport Samba Rallye preceded the later Peugeot 205 T16, with a 1285 cc, 96 kilowatt engine (130 PS). After the success with amateur drivers of the Simca Rallye and

165-400: A secondary imbalance . This is caused by the acceleration/deceleration of the pistons during the top half of the crankshaft rotation being greater than that of the pistons in the bottom half of the crankshaft rotation (because the connecting rods are not infinitely long). As a result, two pistons are always accelerating faster in one direction, while the other two are accelerating more slowly in

220-451: A cylinder on its power stroke, unlike engines with fewer cylinders where there is no power stroke occurring at certain times. Compared with a V4 engine or a flat-four engine , a straight-four engine only has one cylinder head , which reduces complexity and production cost. Petrol straight-four engines used in modern production cars typically have a displacement of 1.3–2.5 L (79–153 cu in), but larger engines have been used in

275-600: A displacement of 1.5–2.5 L (92–153 cu in). The smallest automotive straight-four engine was used in the 1963–1967 Honda T360 kei truck and has a displacement of 356 cc (21.7 cu in), while the largest mass-produced straight-four car engine is the 1999–2019 Mitsubishi 4M41 diesel engine which was used in the Mitsubishi Pajero and has a displacement of 3.2 L (195 cu in). Significant straight-four car engines include: Many early racing cars used straight-four engines, however

330-619: A new generation front and rear AP brake, specific steering rods and the possibility of choosing five different roll cage models (aluminum or steel). The engine increases to 1,296 cc and 136 hp (100 kW) with the adoption of a more aggressive camshaft and larger intake ducts. Quickly a catalog including all the Samba group B parts is offered by the Peugeot team. This is how some private pilots could have their own Group B Samba built by small workshops like Mathiot, Brozzi, or Bouhier. This has

385-590: A reinforced rear axle. The overhead camshaft engine was increased to 1,285 cc and produced 130 hp (96 kW), all coupled to a short gearbox with self-locking differential. In January 1984 the Samba Rallye evolution type SR2 is homologated. The changes are numerous: increased tracks with wide fenders in polyester, triangulated front axle, new engine cradle, lengthened and reinforced transmission gimbals, fiber front bumper with brake cooling scoops, new anti-roll bar, standard triple-Y exhaust (4–2–1), adoption of

440-465: A replacement for the Samba as late as 1984, which would have been based on the forthcoming Citroën AX, but this project was abandoned as Peugeot took the decision to phase out the Talbot brand, and the Peugeot 205 was proving so popular that Peugeot felt little need for a third car of this size within the group. The Citroën AX was launched without a twin in 1986, and the only other Talbot in development,

495-594: A result of increasing costs to comply with stricter safety and especially emissions standards, which makes minicars nearly unprofitable, especially considering that for most models from European brands this is the only market. In the United States, minicar segment cars represented 0.5% of the market share. In 2020 the highest selling minicar segment cars in the U.S. were the Chevrolet Spark , Mitsubishi Mirage and Mini Cooper . In India, historically

550-406: A straight-four engine is installed at an inclined angle (instead of with the cylinders oriented vertically), it is sometimes called a slant-four . Between 2005 and 2008, the proportion of new vehicles sold in the United States with four-cylinder engines rose from 30% to 47%. By the 2020 model year, the share for light-duty vehicles had risen to 59%. A four-stroke straight-four engine always has

605-434: A sunroof, and was painted in metallic blue. The Samba Style model was launched with both radio and sunroof as standard, but not the colorful highlights, essentially to facilitate the sales of the last Samba series. The Samba was not the only Talbot model to see customer interest waning; as the 1980s progressed, all Talbots began to sell rather poorly and the range was gradually phased out. Peugeot had been working on developing

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660-401: A third in 2020, which translates to nearly 400,000 fewer sales and means the segment loses market share as the overall market is down 24%. As a result, this segment now makes up 6.8% of the total European car market, down from 7.7% last year. And their share is expected to shrink further in coming years, as manufacturers are pulling out of this segment or switching their models to EV-only. This is

715-401: A time when regulations dictated a maximum displacement of 550 cc; the maximum size is currently at 660 cc. Straight-four engines with the preferred crankshaft configuration have perfect primary balance . This is because the pistons are moving in pairs, and one pair of pistons is always moving up at the same time as the other pair is moving down. However, straight-four engines have

770-454: Is 675 kg (1,488 lb), thanks to the use of fiberglass body parts (the doors, the rear hatch, the engine cover). Suspension is coil overs, while the brakes are AP Lockheed four-piston calipers at the front and aluminum two-piston calipers for the rear. Also fitted was an aluminum roll bar, faster steering rack, Makrolon windows, hydraulic handbrake, one-piece PTS rims, front and rear anti-roll bar, four-in-two-in-one exhaust, oil cooler, and

825-429: Is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the exceptions of the flat-four engines produced by Subaru and Porsche) and the layout is also very common in motorcycles and other machinery. Therefore the term "four-cylinder engine" is usually synonymous with straight-four engines. When

880-517: Is particularly beneficial in the higher rpm range, and " big-bang firing order " theory says the irregular delivery of torque to the rear tire makes sliding in the corners at racing speeds easier to control. Inline-four engines are also used in MotoGP by the Suzuki (since 2015 ) and Yamaha (since 2002 ) teams. In 2010 , when the four-stroke Moto2 class was introduced, the engines for the class were

935-470: The Maserati 4CL and various English Racing Automobiles (ERA) models. These were resurrected after the war, and formed the foundation of what was later to become Formula One , although the straight-eight supercharged Alfettas would dominate the early years of F1. Another engine that played an important role in racing history is the straight-four Ferrari engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi . This engine

990-561: The T15 was the responsibility of the British design centre in Whitley, Coventry . The stylists were limited by the need to retain the entire body structure of the 104, and allegedly were given Peugeot's own proposal of a 104 facelift as a starting point. The resulting design was quite different from and more modern-looking than its progenitor; only the bonnet and tailgate were shared, and the car

1045-524: The Talbot Express , one of the Sevel Sud vans , until 1994. The Talbot Samba is almost extinct on UK roads with only 12 remaining as of 2018. In Jeremy Clarkson 's 2009 DVD Duel, a 1984 Talbot Samba Cabriolet was destroyed by hurling it from a catapult into a wall, with a speed camera nearby showing that its speed was 164 mph (264 km/h) before it hit the wall and exploded. City car A-segment sales represented approximately 7–8% of

1100-619: The 104 GR2 and GR5, the Peugeot Talbot Sport group under the leadership of Jean Todt decided to homologate the Talbot Samba Rallye in group B. It proved effective on asphalt. In January 1983, the Samba type SRE was homologated, and two-hundred examples were produced by the PTS group - mainly aimed at private drivers. While still competitive, the Samba Rallye was considerably less expensive than other brands. Its weight

1155-533: The 1920s and early 1930s. The Miller engine evolved into the Offenhauser engine which had a highly successful spanning from the 1933 until 1981, including five straight victories at the Indianapolis 500 from 1971 to 1976. Many cars produced for the pre-WWII voiturette Grand Prix motor racing category used inline-four engine designs. 1.5 L supercharged engines found their way into cars such as

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1210-480: The 1960s, it came only with the 1360 cc engine; two engine versions were offered, 53 or 59  kilowatts (72 or 80  PS )—the former was dropped after 1984, at which time a slightly revised cabriolet was released featuring the later style 104 dashboard, twin carburettors and a lined hood; the 80 bhp engine was shared with the Rallye. At the time of its launch it was the only cabrio small car available from

1265-441: The 1970s. Since then, the inline-four has become one of the most common engine configurations in street bikes. Outside of the cruiser category, the inline-four is the most common configuration because of its relatively high performance-to-cost ratio. All major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers offer motorcycles with inline-four engines, as do MV Agusta and BMW . BMW's earlier inline-four motorcycles were mounted horizontally along

1320-544: The 1984 Samba Sympa production model, targeted at "young buyers", which came in silver metallic paint, with a choice of yellow, red or blue highlights and either a radio or a sunroof . In 1985, the sunroof became standard and only yellow highlights were available. The Samba Bahia (marketed as the Samba Trio in the UK) was a 1985 model, also targeted at younger customers. It came with the 1.1 litre engine, denim -covered seats, and

1375-469: The 2.4 litre Citroën DS engine, the 2.6 litre Austin-Healey 100 engine, the 3.3 L Ford Model A (1927) engine and the 2.5 L GM Iron Duke engine . Soviet/Russian GAZ Volga and UAZ engines with displacements of up to 2.9 litres were produced without balance shafts from the 1950s to the 1990s, however these were relatively low-revving engines which reduces the need for a balance shaft system. Most modern straight-four engines used in cars have

1430-609: The A-segment cars had the highest sales. Sales have been in decline in recent years, falling from 70,000 sales per month in 2014 to 47,000 sales per month in 2016. As of 2019, several A-segment cars had successes outside Europe, such as Hyundai Grand i10 , Honda Brio , Kia Picanto , Tata Tiago , Toyota Wigo , Suzuki Celerio , Suzuki Wagon R , Suzuki/Maruti Alto , Ford Figo , Smart ForTwo , Citroën C1 , Peugeot 108 , and modern Fiat 500 . Straight-4 A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine )

1485-557: The Arizona family hatchback, was launched instead as the Peugeot 309 at the end of 1985. Production of the Samba ended in May 1986, by which time 270,555 had been made, signalling the beginning of the end of the Talbot brand for passenger cars, the death knell finally sounding the following year when the last Horizon rolled off the production line in Finland , although the brand survived on

1540-528: The Linwood plant would be unprofitable to maintain and should be closed, which meant an end to both the Avenger and Sunbeam model lines, further emphasizing the need for a new small car in the Talbot lineup. On the eve of the 1980s, PSA's city cars lineup consisted of models based on the veteran front-wheel drive 1972 Peugeot 104 , which came in a shorter three-door and longer five-door version. Citroën rebadged

1595-486: The Peugeot 104 Group 5 as well as on the Citroën Visa Mille Pistes. To fit in with rally regulations, the little Samba had to be ballasted in order to reach the 750 kg (1,653 lb) minimum weight required for cars in the 1600 cc class. On the other hand, in hillclimbing, it was at the right weight of 675 kg and in this discipline, it became an even more successful machine. In 1982,

1650-460: The Peugeot engine which won the 1913 Indianapolis 500 was a highly influential engine. Designed by Ernest Henry , this engine had double overhead camshafts (DOHC) with four valves per cylinder, a layout that would become the standard until today for racing inline-four engines. Amongst the engines inspired by the Peugeot design was the Miller engine , which was a successful racing engine through

1705-466: The Samba shared with its Peugeot and Citroën siblings, coupled with three trim levels. The base LE and LS came with the 954 cc XV , the GL with the 1124 cc XW and the top-of-the-line GLS' with the largest 1360 cc XY . The GL was rated as "Europe's most economical car" according to the official EEC fuel consumption figures, bettering the previously triumphant Renault 5 , but later lost

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1760-593: The Sunbeam when Linwood would close. In order not to create too much internal competition, a wheelbase situated in between the three- and five-door versions of the 104 was chosen. This made the projected model slot in size slightly below popular superminis such as the Ford Fiesta , but above the city cars, including the about-to-be-launched Austin Metro . As with previous Talbot and Chrysler Europe models, styling of

1815-708: The Talbot Group was merged into Peugeot within PSA, and responsibility for the model was devolved to France. The Whitley design studio was dissolved, and some of the designers crossed over to British Leyland , where they joined their former boss Roy Axe . PSA had by then already started work on a replacement for the Samba, based on the Citroën AX , a few prototypes of which—essentially rebadged AXs—were created in 1983/84. The Samba sold reasonably well throughout 1982 and 1983, after which sales began to suffer, partly because of

1870-594: The United States, Nimbus in Denmark, Windhoff in Germany, and Wilkinson in the United Kingdom. The first across-the-frame 4-cylinder motorcycle was the 1939 racer Gilera 500 Rondine , it also had double-over-head camshafts, forced-inducting supercharger and was liquid-cooled . Modern inline-four motorcycle engines first became popular with Honda 's SOHC CB750 introduced in 1969, and others followed in

1925-490: The company to maintain a foothold in the growing small car market. Aware that a more modern design was needed to compete with upcoming front-wheel drive rivals, Chrysler undertook some development work on a shortened version of the Chrysler Horizon (which had the development code C2 ), dubbed C2-short , but it was cut short by the company's financial problems and plans to divest Chrysler Europe. PSA decided that

1980-458: The effect of increasing the number of Samba group B beyond the initial two hundred copies released. The car notably won the 1985 Al Fito Hill Climb, with Spaniard Paulino Diaz. Two engine manufacturers are at the origin of the development of these ultimate evolutions. They are Mathiot and Brozzi, they obtain these displacements by changing the engine bore to 78.50 mm for the 1440 and 80 mm for 1550 cc. These engines were already present on

2035-471: The frame, but all current four-cylinder BMW motorcycles have transverse engines . The modern Triumph company has offered inline-four-powered motorcycles, though they were discontinued in favour of triples . The 2009 Yamaha R1 has an inline-four engine that does not fire at even intervals of 180°. Instead, it uses a crossplane crankshaft that prevents the pistons from simultaneously reaching top dead centre. This results in better secondary balance , which

2090-567: The large 2,495 cc FPF that won the Formula One championship in Cooper 's chassis in 1959 and 1960. In Formula One, the 1980s were dominated by the 1,500 cc turbocharged cars. The BMW M12/13 engine was notable for the era for its high boost pressures and performance. The cast iron block was based on a standard road car block and powered the F1 cars of Brabham, Arrows and Benetton and won

2145-570: The manufacturer, although other models subsequently entered the market segment created by the Samba, including PSA's own Citroën Visa Decapotable. Pininfarina built 13,062 Samba cabriolets. Following the rallying successes of the Simca 1000 and the Talbot Sunbeam, PSA launched the Samba Rallye in 1983. Fitted with the 1219 cc XZ version of the X engine, delivering 66 kilowatt (90 PS), it came in either white or red, with

2200-704: The market in the 2010s. It is approximately equivalent to the kei car class in Japan. As of 2021, the A-segment category size spans from approximately 2.7 metres (110 in) to 3.7 metres (150 in). Body styles for A-segment cars in Europe are always hatchbacks . But as crossovers gain popularity, new models may shift to resemble crossovers. Examples of crossover city cars include Suzuki Ignis and Toyota Aygo X . Other body styles such as sedans are not present in this segment because these shapes largely prove impractical at typical A-segment dimensions. In 2020

2255-407: The model's aging and partly because of competition from the very popular Peugeot 205 , which created strong internal competition within PSA for the little Talbot. To sustain interest in the Samba towards the end of its life, PSA launched a few concept and special versions of the model. The Copacabana was a Samba-based concept car , featuring body elements painted in garish colors. It was followed by

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2310-420: The other direction, which leads to a secondary dynamic imbalance that causes an up-and-down vibration at twice crankshaft speed. This imbalance is common among all piston engines, but the effect is particularly strong on four-stroke inline-four because of the two pistons always moving together. The strength of this imbalance is determined by the reciprocating mass, the ratio of connecting rod length to stroke, and

2365-704: The past, for example the 1927–1931 Bentley 4½ Litre . Diesel engines have been produced in larger displacements, such as a 3.2 L turbocharged Mitsubishi engine (used the Pajero/Shogun/Montero SUV) and a 3.0 L Toyota engine. European and Asian trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating between 7.5 and 18 tonnes typically use inline four-cylinder diesel engines with displacements around 5 litres. Larger displacements are found in locomotive, marine and stationary engines. Displacement can also be very small, as found in kei cars sold in Japan. Several of these engines had four cylinders at

2420-405: The peak piston velocity. Therefore, small displacement engines with light pistons show little effect, and racing engines use long connecting rods. However, the effect grows quadratically with engine speed (rpm). Four-stroke engines with five or more cylinders are able to have at least one cylinder performing its power stroke at any given point in time. However, four-cylinder engines have gaps in

2475-399: The power delivery, since each cylinder completes its power stroke before the next piston starts a new power stroke. This pulsating delivery of power results in more vibrations than engines with more than four cylinders. A balance shaft system is sometimes used to reduce the vibrations created by a straight-four engine, most often in engines with larger displacements. The balance shaft system

2530-554: The short-wheelbase 104 as the Citroën LN , and the long-wheelbase chassis formed the base of the five-door Citroën Visa . In 1979, PSA decided that their new small Talbot would also be based on the 104 rather than the Horizon. Keeping the common underpinnings allowed the new model, known internally as project C15 (later renamed to T15 to reflect the brand change from Chrysler to Talbot) to be launched in 1981, in time to replace

2585-460: The ten highest selling A-segment cars in Europe were Fiat Panda , Fiat 500 , Toyota Aygo , Renault Twingo , Volkswagen Up! , Hyundai i10 , Kia Picanto , Peugeot 108 , Citroën C1 and Suzuki Ignis . 100,000 - 200,000 sales (Best-Selling) 50,000 - 100,000 sales 10,000 - 50,000 sales rank (2021–2022) 2019 - In 2019, sales of minicars were down 2% compared to a total market gain of 1% which means this segment now makes up 7.7% of

2640-559: The title to the Austin Metro. In an effort to make the vehicle stand out in the market against similar rivals, which included its own derivatives, Peugeot added a more glamorous two-door cabriolet to the standard three-door hatchback. Although announced at the hatchback's launch, the first models were not available until 1982. Designed and built by the Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina , who had been building open-top Peugeots since

2695-428: The total European car market at 1.21 million sales, down from 8% in 2018. And with margins on minicars under pressure due to increased costs to comply with stricter safety and emissions standards, manufacturers are scaling back investments in to minicars or switching to an EV-only strategy. In Italy, A-segment cars represented 16.4% of car sales in the first half of 2019. 2020 - European sales of minicars were down by

2750-484: The world championship in 1983. The 1986 version of the engine was said to produce about 1,300 hp (969 kW) in qualifying trim. Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal , which had been making motorcycles since 1901, began producing the first motorcycles with inline-fours in 1905. The FN Four had its engine mounted upright with the crankshaft longitudinal . Other manufacturers that used this layout included Pierce , Henderson , Ace , Cleveland , and Indian in

2805-409: Was effectively the end of the Talbot brand for passenger cars. Launched initially as a three-door hatchback , it was also for some time the only small car available in a factory-ordered cabrio body style, and the most economical car in Europe. The PSA Group , formed in 1976 when Peugeot bought out its competitor, Citroën , took over the former Chrysler Europe in 1979; one of its first decisions

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2860-712: Was given a distinctive front end in Chrysler/Talbot "international" style. Production of the new car started in October 1981, and it was officially launched as the Talbot Samba in December. Unlike the Horizon, 1510/Alpine or Solara , which were made simultaneously in France and England, the model was assembled only in Poissy . The engine lineup included three versions of the four cylinder PSA X engine , which

2915-437: Was invented in 1911 and consists of two shafts carrying identical eccentric weights that rotate in opposite directions at twice the crankshaft's speed. This system was patented by Mitsubishi Motors in the 1970s and has since been used under licence by several other companies. Not all large displacement straight-four engines have used balance shafts, however. Examples of relatively large engines without balance shafts include

2970-570: Was originally designed as a 2 L Formula 2 engine for the Ferrari 500, but evolved to 2.5 L to compete in Formula One in the Ferrari 625. For sports car racing, capacity was increased up to 3.4 L for the Ferrari 860 Monza. The Coventry Climax straight-four engine was also a very successful racing engine, which began life as a 1.5 litre Formula 2 engine. Enlarged to 2.0 litres for Formula One in 1958, it evolved into

3025-604: Was to rebrand all of the models manufactured in the French and British factories to Talbot . Among the models inherited from Chrysler was the Scottish-built rear-wheel drive Chrysler Sunbeam , the only small car in the lineup. The Sunbeam was originally conceived by Chrysler as a stopgap model, developed to keep the Linwood works running—it was based on the running gear of the earlier Avenger made there—while helping

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