Gotta love that Foreia, it has every quirky design cues from the period - rhe trimming to make a sedan hatchback is soooo Renault, as are the taillights, while the front screams Citroën - and the profile screams Austin Maestro
(On a side note it is funny how in the 70’s Citroen made sedans that looked like hatchbacks while in rhe early 80s renault invented the hatchs that looked like sedans with the infamous bulle from the fuego/r25/r11)
I had one of those as my first car. I have to say that the Mesaia reminds me a lot of it in some way. 
Oh 
oi, I never meant this XD I completely forgot about this generation of Kadett XD
Thankfully, this is the post where it’s gonna change. Or not.
In 1965, the Mesaia II took over the Mesaia I that was launched ten years prior.
1965 was ten years ago.
Yup, it is time.
Y’know what?
So as I said, the economy and possibilities were both going down the drain, but it wasn’t as bad as what was happening in the USA, though… USA that they tried to conquer, by sending their most buffed out, yet still efficient Foreia, fitted with a 236S23Ce3-US engine with hypereutectic cast pistons that prevented it to run faster than 5700rpm… not like americans cared, heh.
With a three speed Prendell™ The car had a top speed of 94mph, did 0 to 62 in 15.4sec… But a pretty poor fuel rating of 16.1MPG (the fact that decimals matter says it all) thanks to the same slushbox that allowed it to sell. It wasn’t an economy car, after all.
And while they were building that, the same year, discreetly, the Plebia 102S, Mesaia 162S and Foreia 234S all got discontinued, because they didn’t meet the emission standards and every attempt at replacing them with the same kind of punch ended up a failure.
RiP S trims, 1960-1972. Press F to pay respects.
… Thankfully, better days were to come when the technology advances.
So anyway, back to the
So yeah, the square boi you saw earlier was set to replace the quirky boi hatchback-wagon looking thing that sold like chocolatines.
…
“Pains au chocolat”, said someone, threatening me with a knife. He would be right.
The car was 3.82m long, could weigh as low as 791kg, and was made of untreated steel. It retained the same chassis elements as the outgoing model: McPherson suspension on the front, torsion beam on the rear, transversal FWD engine.
It was available in both 3 and 5 doors variants, though all the press cars shown below were 5 doors. A 3.99m sedan version was also available, even though it had borderline anecdotic sales and wasn’t really marketted.
Let’s talk trims and engines.
The Mk3 Mesaia was available in three trims, that were… not really equivalent to those of the outgoing model. Especially the lower ones.
The base model was the 1.1BL, badged 1.1 only. It came with fully unpainted bumpers, no rear foglights, no radio, no power steering, nothing. As for the engine, that 1.1L unit was a 133S derivative: The 133S11CeUE, developing 46hp and mated to a 4 speed gearbox. To put it short, it’s a stroked version of the engine from the Plebia 102S, tuned for economy. A Plebia engine in a Mesaia… hmpf.
At least it worked, and the car sipped on 8.9l/100 of fuel, while topping up at 134km/h and reaching 100km/h in an agonizing 19.5sec.
The mid-trim model was the CL. It was basically a BL, with factory options that… actually made the car liveable, like power steering, and a radio. Other changes were mostly cosmetic, with half painted bumpers and rear foglights. With no options, the car weighed 871kg.
The base engine was a new 1.3L derivative of the 184S family, the 184S13Ce2UE, mated to a 4 speed gearbox. It developed 60hp, propelled the car to 100km/h in 15.8sec, topped up at 147km/h with a fuel consumption of 9.7l/100. But you could option it up to the engine from the base model Foreia, the 184S16Ce2UE 1.6 unit developing 71hp. Just like you could option up a 5 speed gearbox, nicer seats, a better stereo and more safety options.
…
OR, you could also have every option box ticked AND add alloy wheels and progressive suspension and get the upper trim: The Mesaia GL.
The only options you could add were front foglights and fancy paints, like the Bleu Lagon Métallisé showed below, because… you already had everything else.
The car was only available with the 1.6L, 71hp engine mentioned earlier, mated to a 5 speed manual. With this, the car weighed 979kg, 0-100km/h in 13.9sec, and had a top speed of 157km/h. Fuel consumption was 10.4l/100, though.
No S model… as I said, every single attempt ended up in something not worth selling… And the car itself relied on heavy marketting, a modern design, and a generous option list to sell, because, well… People were starting to see fuel like they see caviar, at that time.
…
GUESS WHO DIDN’T GIVE A SH*T THO
A little quickie for this one, because, well… It’s the third time you see that car now.
So, the ole’ 1955 Plebia was still here, and still selling 20 years later (especially during the fuel crisis, OBVIOUSLY) and… Yeah, in fact it was selling so much that FAAL found it deserved a second facelift.
The cosmetic changes were mostly in the front fascia with:
As for the technical changes:
The Plebia 81 is replaced by the Plebia 900BL (simply badged Plebia) with the very last revision of the now ancient pushrod 123P engine, the 123P9CeUE. 35hp, 606kg, 8.7l/100km/h, 112km/h top speed and I won’t even publish the 0-100 time.
The Plebia 101L is replaced by the Plebia GL, with… The 1.1 engine from the base Mesaia, just to rub the fact that the base Mesaia ACTUALLY has a Plebia engine. 46hp, 690kg, 9.9l/100 (yeah, worse than the Mesaia. Boom.), 121km/h, 18.2s to 100.
Neither the 101M nor the 102S had following this year.
…
But if you look closely at the badging on the 1978 model year that is shown, due to fixture errors on the 1975 cars… more is to come in later years for FAAL’s sport car legacy.
Two posts in one day, cuz I really wanna catch up with my lore.
Okay. The idea behind the Ochlosia is that ever since the Mk1 Plebia Fourgonnette went out of production in the mid sixties (Yep, mid sixties. That plank on wheels.), FAAL had simply no true utilitarian options.
Sure, there was the Mesaia and Foreia wagons… But a wagon can only haul so much and be so practical at the end of the day. Professionnals and people who really needed to carry heavy stuff were reaching out to other brands, Anhultz and their everlasting Transportwagen to only cite one… It was time to try and get them back. With squares. And modern tech.
… I think I’m getting lost in thoughts.
SO. The van. Galvanized half-monocoque half-ladder body, to allow for a low loading line and still support enough weight. Regular steel panels. Two sliding doors. Front McPherson suspension and rear solid axle leaf spring. 300mm disc brakes all around, ventilated in the front, solid in the back. Given the shape of the rear, no dual doors, just a big old hatch, with very heavy gas springs, that went way down until the loading line.
The Ochlosia had two versions: A fully utilitarian version, with a separation between the cabin and the cargo area, and a people mover, called the Ochlosia Camper
For some reason, the van variant was offered with a fully glassed version… and for some reason² that’s the configuration the press car is in. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Van was motorized by a single engine to make it as cheap to buy and to maintain as possible: The 1.8 184S18Ce2UE that had been in the top trim mk3 Foreia for two years now. At 85hp it didn’t look like much BUT, a newly designed 5 speed gearbox with very wide gears and a very, VERY short first gear made up for that, and allowed the van a carrying capacity of 1700kg and a towing capacity of 1400kg. For a van with a dry weight of around 1250kg.
The price to pay was an engine that was absolutely screaming at 4100rpm at 120km/h… And get that, the engine is right NEXT to you when you’re driving. Needless to say the Ochlosia wasn’t a highway van.
Amongst other specs, you get a 150km/h top speed (dry, of course), a 14sec 0-100km/h and 14.5L/100km.
The Ochlosia Camper now, that’s another story.
This van was open cab all the way to the trunk, only available in fully glassed version. It had hubcaps, chrome bumpers, a chrome grille, chrome door handles and optional foglights. Not to mention extra paint options. You could even get a quirky looking spare wheel holder on the tailgate… which of course, meant heavier gas springs.
The five speed option was retained, but tuned towards drivability rather than towing capacity… And more, it was mated to the 2.2 sixer 236S22Ce3UE from the Klinos.
The goal with that van / people mover thingy is that it was made to do whatever you wanted on the inside. But it came with two three-seats benches, fully removable, that would leave a flat floor when removed, and a 8 seater registration. What you did with those benches, and the space on the inside, was entirely up to you. … Yeah you can see where the “camper” name comes from.
Best part? Thanks to the car-like gearing, the 6 cylinder had only a barely worse fuel consumption than the van variant, at 14.7l/100 and the Camper could TECHNICALLY reach 164km/h and had a 0-100 of 14.5sec.
Okay, that’s it for the Ochlosia.
Seeing what was left in their bank of research, the marketting team saw only one body variant that was interesting and could bring in new markets: A coupe. They wanted it for next year.
The engineering department, though, was deep into developing the future of the carburator… and managed to make the marketting team chill a bit, saying that they could introduce the new coupe with a very fancy fuel feeding technology that could improve both efficiency AND performance at the same time.
Coming next: The return of sports cars and Fuel Injection
Okay, so it’s 1978 and FAAL just got done with the future of carburators.
Two versions:
-an o2 sensor boi with a single injector meant to replace a carburator on the cheap… paradoxally with a very fancy 70s spec ECU
-a more expensive mechanical fuel injection with a multiport layout and weird tray thingy.
The two managed to get released together, while a fancier multiport EFI setup was awaiting better technology to get released… So, the complicated mechaboi will have to do or most engines, while the single point carb-replacement EFI setup was meant for three cylinder engines only.
But first of all, FAAL needed to raise awareness of the possibilities of fuel injection, both in efficiency and performance. And that’s where their latest study shows up: The FAAL Coupé
Under the body, it’s… basically a RWD Mesaia. In which any 236S engine fits. With semi trailing arms instead of a torsion beam on the rear. … Which has gone through an anti-corrosion treatment. But… yeah, let’s just say there were SOME Mesaia design elements taken. Including the basics of the front fascia.
The rear, though, was entirely different, with a weird striped plastic bar going from one rear quarter window to the other while wrapping around the trunk, because French Quirks and Renault Fuego or something.
N/A Coupés had a single trim: CS, that came with four standard seats, an AM radio and steel wheels with hubcaps. A pretty basic equipment that allowed the car to stay at exactly 1000kg. The green one is one of them.
Turbo Coupés had, too, a single trim, that was just badged Turbo. On top of all that is cited, they had an aero package composed of a lip and a small spoiler. That would be the red one.
N/A Performance: 188km/h top speed, a 0-100km/h in 10.1 sec, quarter mile of 17.7sec.
Turbo performance: 200km/h top speed, 0-100km/h in 8.1sec, quarter mile of 16.15sec.
The performances of the Turbo model put the car in only a slightly higher spot as West Germany’s BMW 323i… which had a naturally aspirated 2.3 engine. There was still progress to be made.
…
Which is good, because those engine were made to comply with drastic emission standards they didn’t necessarily need to. So with this, plus the EFI development, plus FAAL’s still developing new drivetrain options… That car could only improve.
1978 was one helluva year for FAAL, and I’m gonna need to cover it in three posts.
Coming next: Fuel Injection galore, the return of sport trims, and reconquering the USA
We’re still in 1978, and we’re far from done.
Because fuel injection going production ready meant the whole FAAL lineup will take advantage of it. Engine updates. New versions of cars. Everything.
The Foreia 1.8 saw a fuel injected version, which increased the power by 12hp: The 184S18ME
The Klinos Excellence was also the flagship of the fleet of cars and variants FAAL sent overseas to try and reconquer the US, now that they had decent engine choices.
And to bottom up the list:
This car was very different from the european model, though, both in conception and in target audience. It was cheaper, yet “sportier”. Think “slow car fast”. See, the problem is that the european Mesaia was fully, one hundred percent built to european standards. Their engines were unfit for the US market, and so were their performance. Miss me with that “unsafe for highway use” sh*t.
So the USDM Mesaia was sold in two trims:
Tfw I have one more post to go to cover 1978
pukes last post for 1978
Now, the adoption of fuel injection meant better emission controls. Better emission controls meant the possibility to extract more out of existing engines and still comply.
It’s time to paint some cars in Ginster Yellow again. Starting with the Plebia:
It felt fast. But at 23 years old, the body was starting to show its age. Top speed was only 142km/h, the 0-60 took 10.7 seconds. Quarter mile though, at 17.7s, was just on par with the contemporary N/A FAAL Coupe. Whether this is good news for the Plebia S or bad news for the N/A Coupe, you decide.
The engine was a 133S block, bored out to 1.3L and fitted with single point EFI. Just like the USDM base model Mesaia. Except this one had tubular exhaust headers and made 73hp: The 133S13Spi.
So how did it feel fast? Well, the car weighed exactly 666kg. Also, a really really good suspension tuning that made it feel like it had no grip limit. So little understeer it might as well be AWD.
Sure, people who tuned Plebias know there’s a grip limit but that’s only past 160kmh. Which the car didn’t reach stock. And even then, just a little camber tweaking if you get above that and boom. Back on the rocks, baby.
But that’s not the best stuff. Guess who’s also back.
If the Plebia’s days were numbered, the Mesaia’s career was still fresh… and the upcoming hot hatch war will keep it fresh as years go by.
Next up: The 80s - What doesn’t kill you makes you build great cars
To be quite honest, I didn’t like your brand at the start, I’m still not sure about your babbling, but the cars… they are really Frenchie-cool 
For the record I’ve been waiting to do this post for literally two months. So:
It’s been three years since FAAL’s comeback in the sport car market, and people couldn’t rejoice more. From the affordable and kart-like Plebia S to the german-tickling Mesaia GTI all the way to the tail happy Coupe Turbo, any wallet in need of sensations could find its weapon of choice. If sales were only good, the brand image was starting to rise up to a whole new level… which was the goal the Klinos failed to achieve. Luxury wasn’t the way to go.
But now… you don’t build sports cars just for the heck of it, do you? Oh no. Competition is where it’s at. And for that, the Coupe will have to up its game.
TETRA. A word that will surely make the ink flow as the very first French permanent AWD system ever made.
Now, why so much craziness, in an age where every single car made in France is transverse, FWD and 4 cylinder? Simple.
FAAL had been taking a gamble three years ago by making the Coupe RWD, taking lessons from the Germans. It was either going to be hit or miss. And, as it turns out… Hit. People were so glad to have a car that was RWD, and a very well handling RWD on top of that, that they didn’t care about the lack of power and the desperately low redline from the engine. So why not take it to the next level? Taking lessons from the germans again it is.
The 50/50 AWD system made the car gain weight, at 1147kg, or 80kg more than a regular Coupe Turbo, and as a result, to extract significantly better performance out of the Tetra, the engine had to be upgraded.
The Coupe’s 236S23MTE engine saw a brand new ball bearing turbo and ditched the hypereutectic cast pistons for tough, forged ones (rendering the car unsellable in the US because of that), and the new 236S23MT now made 175hp and 264nm peak, a 20hp and more than 30nm improvement over the Coupe’s engine, not to mention the raised redline and lower peak torque.
With accurate tuning of the 5 speed that could now accept lower first gears, the Coupe TETRA Evo 1 went from 0 to 60 in 7.1s (1s improvement over the Turbo, and no wheel spin at all) but retained the same 200km/h top speed as the Turbo.
So far, the car was already incredibly more driveable than the standard Turbo Coupe, but the numbers felt like wet fireworks being lit. BUT THEN:
During the one year of Evo 1 sales, FAAL’s engineers figured out “Hey, why don’t we combine the o2 sensor boi of the Plebia S and the multipoint layout of our mechanical injection in a multipoint EFI layout?”
As usual when someone makes such a discovery at FAAL, the whole team of executives got drunk beyond decency and wake up three days later after yet another alsacien booze shortage. This was no exception since their newest and last version of the now 17 years old 236S23 engine, the 236S23Mpi, made 23hp and 31nm more than its Mechanical Injection equivalent. With 198hp, 295nm and only 8 more kg than the Evo 1, the Coupe Tetra evo 2 now went from 0-60 in 6.43s and had a top speed of 208km/h.
The front fascia had been revised for the occasion, with a new hood scoop and a wider lower grille. The upper grille stayed the same; despite what the photo mode wants you to make believe, it isn’t blank.
Now the car was starting to feel great. More power, better throttle response, better stats overall and on top of that, better fuel consumption. The Evo 1 kept being sold for a while longer though, to give people more opportunities because the new engine only ran on 95 octane.
It looked like things couldn’t get any better BUT THEY DID.
1983 saw the now 5 years old Coupe’s mid career facelift, and with that, the arrival of the successor of the 236S engine series: The 256R.
This new block had a modern 24 valve layout all cramped on the same camshaft and was designed to run with multipoint EFI in the first place. Better air flow. Higher redlines. Lower service costs (though they’re already stupid high for turbo Coupes :t). The engine was also designed to be stoked to 2.5L (though with a very high stroke/bore ratio), but the one that found its way in the Evo 3 was a 2141cc slightly undersquare turbo unit. Why such an odd displacement? We’ll get to it later.
Of course, it’s a Facelift, so instead of listing all the physical changes I’ll let the pictures speak because we’re barely halfway through yet:
The new engine, the 256R21MpiT, had a slightly worse torque than the outgoing one (292nm), BUT more power, 215hp at a high 6600RPM, which made the Tetra Evo 3 a car that you WANT to bring to the redline. Also, first FAAL engine to reach 100hp/L. Traction was starting to show its limit though, and that’s why the TETRA system was updated too, with brand new geared LSDs front and rear, the whole package allowing a 0-60 time slightly below 6 seconds and a top speed of 215km/h.
Of course the regular Coupe also saw the Facelift as well as new 256R derived engines:
It keeps getting better and OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS.
Of course, FAAL wouldn’t dump crazy amount of money in R&D if they didn’t want something out of it, and competition had been their goal from the very start. Their AWD TETRA system was ready and tested out on road cars by buyers who didn’t even know what was about to hit them just like Group B drivers.
Now, to participate in Group B, FAAL had to build a homologation special. 200 road cars that are close enough to the competition car, but still actually sell in the real world. Which is, in fact, why their new engine has such an odd displacement that allowed it to participate in the 3000cc category. Peugeot did it. Audi did it. Lancia did it. It was their turn. Here comes the TETRA Tour De Corse.
AND IF YOU THINK THIS IS PEAK 80s FAAL WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE ACTUAL RACE VERSION
The Group B FAAL Tetra saw two versions: The 1984-1985 season version had the 256R21MpiTR-F1 race only engine making 417hp out of a stock block, and the very last, widow maker 256R21MpiTR-F2 engine for the 1985-1986 season made 557hp with a revised head and tougher internals.
The car was relatively succesfull in competition… and by that I mean almost nobody died in it. As for actual racing pedigree, I think we’re gonna wait for the BeamNG exporter release for that.
TL;DR: Competition is a drug and that was one helluva long post.
TURBO AWD GROUP B GIB AUDI QUATTRO 
It looks like if Sport Quattro and E30 M3 Evo had a child.
And let me leave it here for the mood:
It appears that the legend has caught on…
… And so has the racing heritage.
… I mean, if the World Series Touring ends up being a thing, at least.
Loving the series. With the new BeamNG exporter around the corner, are you gonna make some of these cars available to download? I’d love to try the Mesaia 154S
Q
Definetly. Not literally two minutes after the exporter release of course, but definetly.
First one I’m gonna do is the Tetra and the Tour De Corse (and in fact the exporter is gonna be a blessing to tune the Group B version properly as Automation doesn’t really have a “hooning on gravel” stat), and then it’s gonna trickle down all the way to the 154S. x)
Oh and also, it appears that the post about the FAAL Tetra was a mistake, and the 256R engine family actually doesn’t exist. I don’t know why, but the archives state of a weird inline 6 setup when it’s actually a shorter stroke inline 5 for the whole post 1983 lineup. brb gonna slap some archivist trainee.
[EDIT]
Old picture of a Mesaia 164S in a late sixties track day, colorized
spicy
But first, a little overview of a few models we didn’t mention before:
By the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, the competition amongst compact hatchbacks grew stronger and stronger, on all fronts: From the shitbox to the high end posh trims all the way to the pocket rockets, every single brand was trying to one up the other. Turbos, double overhead cams, fancy suspension setups, you name it. FAAL took on the fight with confidence, feeling that the Mesaia, their competitor in that segment, was still avantgarde enough to keep on going another decade with just a refresh.
And, there’s the refresh:
Simple, but efficient. As for the trims, every single engine stayed the same (in the regular offer), except with fuel injection.
-the 1.1 BL becomes 1.1 BLi and gains 8hp with the updated 54hp 133S11Spi
The BLi was 4 speed only. The CLi was 4 speed with optional 5 speed. The GLi was 5 speed with optional 3 speed automatic. All around, better performance, better response, and better fuel economy. The interior has been revised, too, seeing the light of brand new cassette players and even ABS on the posh, wool seated GLi.
But the fun ain’t there. Oh no.
It was designed for fuel injection from the start. It liked to rev much more than the now 17 years old 184S blocks. And it had so much to prove. Its first iteration (along a tamer 2.0L we’ll talk about in another post) was the 204R16Mpi in the 1982 Mesaia 1.6 GTI2.
At 115hp and 145nm of torque, it was largely sufficient for the light Mesaia, who at 915kg didn’t have the beer belly problems that some other hot hatchs were starting to have. Looking at you, mk2 Golf. In fact, with a 0-100km/h time of 8.6s, a quarter mile of 16.4s, and a standing km of 30.3s, it was better than a mk2 Golf GTI 8V all around.
But even beyond stats, the car was delightfully throwable around corners, the rear wheel on the inside poking off the road whenever your drivers skill get good enough for it to happen. It seemed, though, that FAAL believed more than the public in a true, sports only car, because the radio was optional and almost everybody bought it.
But the competition kept growing. Every single brand was making better versions of their hot hatches, sold alongside the now lesser versions. Fiesta xr2i? How about a Turbo. 205 GTI 1.6L? Yeah okay but 1.9L. Mk2 Golf GTI 8V? mmmm 16V.
Thankfully, FAAL engineered their new baby with that in mind, and the 1.6 GTI2 became the “lesser GTI” in 1985 with the arrival of the 1.8 GTI:
The car gained 20hp and 30kg, now standing at 135hp and 945kg with the new 204R18Mpi engine. The radio was now standard, but that didn’t make performances worse, oh no.
The 0-100 was now 7.74s, quarter mile 15.78s, and standing km 28.95s. Top speed was still nothing quite impressive at 191km/h, but the mk2 Golf GTI16 was once again trump’d by half a second in almost all the other stats. That battle of numbers still didn’t make the Mesaia 1.8GTI any worse to drive, following the path of her 1.6 little sister it was praised for its incredible handling.
The Mesaia III, with that refresh, was bound to stay into FAAL’s lineup until the end of the 80s. So did the Coupe, and so did the Ochlosia. That leaves two cars left:
The designers, of course, were aware of that, and replacements are in the pipes for the next posts.
Yep, pretty early for an update, but some markets do need updates if you want to keep them interested. It is the case for sedans and high end cars. 1982, it’s time to sleeken the Foreia.
… No, wait. Let’s do even more.
As you might have noticed from all the effort put in their sports cars, FAAL was really interested in competition. That would result in customers expecting cars to handle like sports cars, or at least have the possibility to do so. And as they were drowning in money and potential money from having more models for sale than ever, it was time to dump something in suspension R&D. Which is why the Foreia features a brand new, very fancy double wishbone all around suspension setup. Boom.
Speaking of trims and engine choices:
Foreia :
Foreia GL:
One year after launch, the Klinos saw the same overhaul as the Foreia, and for the same reason: It was still based off of it.
This boi is only motorized by 5 cylinder engines, and the car retains the fancy double wishbone all around suspension setup, but connects it to the car on FAAL’s trademark high end hydropneumatic suspension, which makes for an incredibly comfy ride, especially with the optional 4 speed automatic. And especially with all the goodies and the interior build quality of the return of the grandaddy of all FAAL luxury cars: The Klinos Excellence.
The most expensive FAAL ever built. But hey, it had everything. Cassette 8 speaker radio, wood trim, heated power operated wool seats… But hey, that’s for the trims and engines part:
Klinos GLS
Klinos Excellence
Now of course, FAAL kinda lost some money on this much development, which is the reason between them keeping up the Mk2 Plebia (WHICH IS ALREADY 27 GODDAMN YEARS OLD) for another three years, unable to industrialize the otherwise ready replacement yet.
So yeah, next up, Granny retires: The Mk3 Plebia.
Back from classes and I see this… 
Five pot + AWD + hydro. GIB
Morning shifts are eating me up so small post today to tease for a bigger post probably this weekend
By 1981, the Plebia II had been on sale for 26 years. That’s a pretty damn long carreer, even by European popular car standards. Sure, it has gone through two facelifts but stayed on the same platform, desperately lacking modern tech and modern design features. It had the crappiest aerodynamics of any car on the market (that included the 2CV and the Renault 4, which were amongst its only equivalents at the time), and desperately lacked a hatch. A replacement had to happen really soon, or FAAL would lose the cheap popular car market.
A replacement was in the tubes, being developped for a few years. But by the early eighties FAAL was fully focused on rallying and other competitions and was lacking the funds to replace the Plebia, dumping money in the Tetra project and its double wishbone suspension instead.
However, to prove that a replacement was, indeed, in the tubes, and spark the public’s interest, FAAL put every single idea they had so far into a concept car that was going to premiere at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show: The FAAL Dima.
The idea was simple: As much space as possible contained into a car barely 37cm longer than the outgoing Plebia. Abie to seat 5, still carry at least one standard suitcase, while being as aerodynamic as possible. And the result behind this idea looked like a blobby shape wrapped around a square cockpit.
The wheels were as flat as possible for maximum smoothness, the wheel arches were flat for the same purpose. The bonnet though, was swooping from the bumper to the windshield to the point where the link between the two was barely noticeable for a 1980s car.
The front was very bare, simple yet modern headlights and the most bottom breathers of bottom breathers. As few fixtures as possible to ensure as little drag as possible. In fact, the air flow on the front was very clever: The bottom breather grille was meant for the radiator. And there was a hidden grille at the top of what happenned to just be a crevice in between the two headlights where cold air could come in to cool down the rest of the engine bay, before exiting through the two triple vents in front of the windshield. This was supposed to provide cooling with as little resistance as possible, but of course, was still in testing.
The rear was pretty simple. Not much going on in here except for the boot opening to rear surface ratio was amongst the biggest of any car on the market and of course any FAAL ever.
It would take four more years for the actual Plebia III to be production ready and hit the market. Although, it was going to be a bit different from the concept, because of corporate decisions and cost cutting.
Aw shit it’s that time again where I have a billion things to release. Hmpf.
It has been expected.
It has been hoped for.
It has been postponed. Many times. Because FAAL had other priorities, and wanted to up their prestige, mainly. Which is why the idea of creating an entry level car was not really welcome in the design office.
…
However, the idea of finally retiring the prehistoric Mk2 Plebia from the market was definetly welcomed. So, the 1981 FAAL Dima concept has been, four years later, industrialized.
How you see her during date night:
How she looks the morning after:
Now of course, to be production ready, the concept had to be made a little simpler.
Round headlights have been kept as a design cue reminiscing the old Mk2 Plebia. Because, after all, the car had a special place in FAAL’s history, being produced for thirty years, non stop. The upper engine airflow knife has been removed, and so has the bubble shaped hood in the process. Bigger blinkers have been fitted inside the bumper, and only one of the windshield air vents remained, as a HVAC air intake. And despite everything, despite the reminiscing design cues, despite the four years debate between the FAAL executives, the car did not retain the Plebia name. At the last minute, it was renamed Dima, just like the concept it came from.
The “regular” Dima was available with a three engine range, all from the 133S inline 3 series that moved the base model Mesaia, as well as the outgoing Plebia Mk2. To save costs, gearboxes were reduced to three: A 4 speed manual, a 5 speed manual and a 3 speed automatic.
Depending on trim, options and engines, the weight ranged from 715kg to 930kg. Oh yeah, speaking of trims:
But of course, the lineup wouldn’t be complete without not one, but TWO sporty variants.
Now, for the sport offering, the Dima keeps on the “today’s sport engine is tomorrow’s efficient engine” motto started by the Mk2 Mesaia and Foreia. Cue the 133R engine range, which is basicaly a SOHC-4 head slammed onto a 133S block, only available in multipoint injection, and with different internals.
Now why downgrading the engine size? Well… for once, because FAAL didn’t want to cast a shadow on their own Mesaia GTI 1.6, which base price was around 69.660 francs without options. But also, that engine size made it fit the Group N3 rallye category, allowing amateur drivers to go after BMW 320is and other 2000cc N/A engines in the mountain passes in a car that barely weighed 777kg when stripped down, and that had factory approved aftermarket kits that could make the power go up to 184hp!
That, though, is for a whole other topic.
