CG 1200S sports car

Make	CG Automobiles
Years of production	1968 to 1972
Production	280
Class	Sports car
Assembly plant	Brie-Comte-Robert
Engine	1,204 cc
Engine position	Rear
Maximum power	80-85 hp
Transmission	Rear-wheel drive, 4 gears
Unloaded weight	660kg
Maximum speed	185-188 km/h
Bodywork	Coupe,Spider 2+2
Length	4024mm
Length	1540mm
Height	1180mm
Wheelbase	2232mm

The CG 1200 S (type B1200) is a sports automobile manufactured by the French coachbuilder Chappe Frères et Gessalin from late 1968 until the end of 1972.

History

The previous CG 1000 equipped with a Simca 1000 engine suffers from an obvious lack of performance. In June 1967, the firm presents a version of 80 horsepower of sporty of its 1000 coupé bodied by Bertone, the 1200 S coupé.

Chappe and Gessalin then decided to present the CG 1200 S around this new engine as a spider or a real coupé (there was no longer a removable hard top as the previous version. It is equipped with a 1,204 cc Poissy engine producing 80 horsepower thanks to the supply of two  Solex 35 PHH-5 horizontal carburettors. The CG benefits from all the developments of the Simca 1200 S coupé, such as running gear and rack-and-pinion steering, which in 1968 replaced the screw-box steering of the first models.

Performance

• Engine Capacity 73.47 cu in, 1,204 cu cm
• Fuel Consumption 31.4 m/imp gal, 26.1 mlUS gal, 9 1 x 100 km
• Max Speed 115 mph, 185 km/h
• power-weight ratio: 18 lb/hp, 8.2 kg/hp
• speed in top at 1,000 rpm: 17.8 mph, 28.6 km/h.
• max power (DIN): 80 hp at 6,000 rpm
• max torque (DIN): 76 1b ft, 10.5 kg m at 4,500 rpm
• max engine rpm: 6,600; specific power: 66.4 hp/l

Bodywork modifications allow it to be distinguished from the previous one with an air intake under the front number plate due to the passage of the radiator at the front of the vehicle and improve cooling, additional integrated headlights to the bodywork (previously available as an option), slight fender flares and reversing lights. The bonnet has been changed with a new much more discreet one.

In 1968, the Automobiles CG made it possible to create a tailor-made car it is very difficult to speak of a defined model. The CG 1200 S quickly met with success and production rates continued to intensify throughout the model's career. The coupe finally has the roof attached to the body, even if it continues to be moulded separately. From the 1969 Paris Motor Show, it evolved by adopting the new 85 horsepower " Poissy engine “from the Simca 1200 S coupé. Some models were distinguished by the addition of a pair of additional shock absorbers at the rear.Distribution of weight was  32.8% to the front axleand 67.2% to rear axle. A modification of the upper corner of the door into a sharp angle goes unnoticed in the middle of production, even if it requires a modification of the mould of the roof.

For customers wishing to practice motor racing the manufacturer offers variants of its car. Thus, a CG 548, a version lightened to 548 kg, is started. We reduce the sampling of the polyester skin of the bodywork, the tubes and the chassis sheets, we replace the steel with aluminium, the side and rear windows with plexiglass and we remove the upholstery and the carpet. CG 548 also offers a rigid attachment of the engine to the crossmember supporting the rear axle, making it possible to remove any chassis element behind it and to limit the effect of engine overhang and to rebalance the masses of the car on its running gear. A cooling air vent on top of the car's bonnet also sets this model apart. The possibility of adding a Constantin compressor to increase the power to more than 120 horsepower.
From the summer of 1970, around twenty CG 548s were built. The latest models adopt the appearance of the Simca CG Proto MC spider. The total production of CG type B1200, including competition derivatives CG 548, is about 280 copies.