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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 new Samba was assembled only in Poissy. The engine lineup included three versions of the four cylinder PSA X engine, which 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 engine. The GLS was also available with a five-speed transmission. Power outputs are 45, 50, and 72 PS (33, 37, and 53 kW) respectively. The engine was tilted 72 degrees backwards to allow the spare tire to be stored under the bonnet without having to raise it, and drove the gearbox through a set of step-down pinions. 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 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 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 the manufacturer, although other models subsequently entered the market segment created by the Samba, including PSA's own Citroën Visa Décapotable. Pininfarina built 13,062 Samba cabriolets.