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The Ford Versailles was a large family car sold between 1991 and 1996 in Brazil and Argentina. It was a version of the
The Ford Versailles took over from the Ford Del Rey in 1991 (for the 1992 model year). Design differed from the Santana by using Ford's corporate front end treatment, somewhat squarer taillights, and more upright D-pillars. Like the Santana, the Versailles was available as a two- or four-door sedan, and as a station wagon called the Ford Royale. The Royale was initially only offered as a three-door, even though the Volkswagen Quantum on which it was based was available with five doors. (It was alleged that Volkswagen did not want the Royale to be available as a five-door model, as this would have posed a competitive threat to the popular Quantum.). In 1995 and 1996, Ford did offer a five-door version of the Royale. The Versailles and Royale were both built at Volkswagen's plant in
Volkswagen Santana
The Volkswagen Santana is a nameplate used by Volkswagen for various Sedan (automobile), sedans and station wagons since 1983. The first generation is based on the second-generation Volkswagen Passat (B2). It was introduced in 1981 while productio ...
sold in the 1990s, when Ford and Volkswagen
Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
shared models in South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
in a joint venture known as Autolatina. It replaced the Ford Del Rey in Brazil and the locally built Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a Mid-size car, mid-size/D-segment, large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford of Europe from 1982–1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Bob Lutz (businessman), Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for ...
in Argentina. The station wagon version was sold as the Ford Royale.
History
The Ford Versailles took over from the Ford Del Rey in 1991 (for the 1992 model year). Design differed from the Santana by using Ford's corporate front end treatment, somewhat squarer taillights, and more upright D-pillars. Like the Santana, the Versailles was available as a two- or four-door sedan, and as a station wagon called the Ford Royale. The Royale was initially only offered as a three-door, even though the Volkswagen Quantum on which it was based was available with five doors. (It was alleged that Volkswagen did not want the Royale to be available as a five-door model, as this would have posed a competitive threat to the popular Quantum.). In 1995 and 1996, Ford did offer a five-door version of the Royale. The Versailles and Royale were both built at Volkswagen's plant in São Bernardo do Campo
São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo.
It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 810,729 (2022 census) in an area of .
According to 2021 data from ...
and not at Ford's own facility.
The GL came standard with a 1.8-liter Volkswagen engine, or an optional 2.0-liter version. Both were offered in either gasoline or alcohol-powered versions. The top Ghia model only received the 2.0-liter engine and was also available with electronic fuel injection. From 1993, fuel injection became available on the GL as well.
Changes
In 1994, the model-specific front seats were replaced with the cheaper units from the locally built Ford Escort. In 1995, the Autolatina joint venture ended. Nonetheless, Ford presented a facelifted version of the Versailles and Royale, which coincided with the availability of a five-door station wagon.Ford Galaxy
The Versailles was also sold as the Ford Galaxy inArgentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
(not to be confused with the European MPV of the same name), where it replaced the Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a Mid-size car, mid-size/D-segment, large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford of Europe from 1982–1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Bob Lutz (businessman), Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for ...
. Both the Versailles and the Galaxy were eventually replaced by the Ford Mondeo
The Ford Mondeo is a Mid-size/large family car, large (D-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford since 1993 across five generations for model years 1993-2022. As Ford self-declared world car, the Mondeo was intended to ...
.
See also
* Lincoln Versailles, an upmarket version of the 1970sU.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Ford Granada
* Volkswagen Apollo
* Volkswagen Pointer
References
{{FordVersailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
Mid-size cars
Sedans
Cars introduced in 1991
Cars discontinued in 1996
Cars of Brazil
Front-wheel-drive vehicles