ANYONE wandering round the Earls Court motor show in 1962 and contemplating the purchase of a Ford Consul may have stood back in amazement when passing the stand of French manufacturer Simca, because there for all to see was a remarkable lookalike.

The car was the Simca Ariane which was one of the usually rather pricey French imports into Britain at the time.

Not surprisingly the Ariane had the same sales pitch as the Consul - a car for the family man who wanted a large motor without the financial penalty of a six-cylinder engine.

The reason for the similarity is that the body and chassis were originally developed from those used in the continental Ford V8 when Simca took over Ford's French operation.

The Ariane was basically a restyled Detroit-designed Ford Vedette, with a neat unitary body and MacPherson strut front suspension.

It was a real Suez Crisis special because it was fitted with the economical 1,290cc Aronde engine which featured a five-bearing crankshaft.

Special features included a fold-down rear seat to create extra luggage space with an adjustable back-rest for the front bench seat being an optional extra.

It was claimed at the time that the Ariane provided comfortable transport for six but given that fact that it was only a 1,300 it had to work very hard in the engine room.

Maximum speed was 78mph and the economy worked out at around 25-30mpg.

This compared to a slightly slower 80mph for the 1,703cc Consul which had an mpg readout of 28.

But the Ariane was totally upstaged a little later by the arrival of the Ford Cortina and glitzy Consul Classic, both of which were much cheaper. You could buy a Cortina for £693 and a Classic for £750.

Even if you wanted the new Zephyr Four you would only have to pay £846.

The Ariane in the UK was priced out of its slot at £1,087 - around the cost of a luxury Ford Zodiac.

The words 'no contest' spring to mind.