Last rides with high stakes

[Butch]

Thank you all.

https://www.allcarindex.com/concept/france/matra

You can see for yourself, how many Matra prototypes used letter P

To be exhaustive, we must add the Matra Bagheera U8. It is a Bagheera with an extended wheelbase to accommodate an 8-cylinder U-shaped engine. That is to say, two parallel 4-cylinder engines connected by a chain. Economical to produce but disastrous in terms of fuel consumption.

[noise]

The pic's show how Simca struggled with his direction. The Bagheera was innovative, while the Simca/Chrysler 2 litre in the background was the opposite.

Never heard about U engines, thnx it's interesting.

Most common layouts are line, V and boxer but there are much more variations. Lancia (when will we see a Fulvia in nfs4?) used a V4 which is different from the V4 by ford.

Great video of Matra in GTR game b.t.w

[Butch]

840 kg, 255ch, 4WD., manual transmission. A toy, a smile machine and the exact opposite of an American car.

wip

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[noise]

Looks good, it's also the opposite of a Facel Vega , and by 1986 American cars got downsized too.Renault sold his 9 and 11 as AMC Alliance/Encore. Did Matra ever sold cars in the USA?

255ch, is that top speed or horsepower (cheval vapeur=cv isn't it?)

[Spectre]

It looks gorgeous! Keep it up!

[EvoX]

Reminds me of Asphalt Extreme buggies

[Butch]

Noise -> Yes, sometime we use "ch" for "CV". I don't think Matra sent some car in the USA. I think the average American disdains French cars just as much as the average French person disdains American cars. They know a little about the Citroen DS and the Peugeot 403 convertible. People here think that all muscle cars are Mustangs, and that K2000 is a Corvette.

Spectre -> Sure

Evox -> But the matra isn't offroad at all.

[noise]

Matra is very French and not a real carcompany is it?, where Renault is a big company who thinks more globally. There were 6 cyl.Renault/Ramblers in the sixties.

This car proved there is a substitute for cubic inches, is that 2 litre turbo by Renault?

In Holland we knew the Matra Bagheera (later Talbot Murena) sold by Simca dealers. And that Matra/Simca Rancho which became famous in a TV program (Bassie & Adriaan)

Are there more production-cars build by Matra?

[Butch]

Historically, Matra has covered a wide range of activities in aeronautics, aerospace, automotive, motorsports, transportation, telecommunications, and defense.

Matra acquired René Bonnet, a small manufacturer that produced the Djet using a Renault Gordini engine. Approximately 1,700 units were produced between 1962 and 1968.



From 1967 to 1973, it produced just under 10,000 Matra 530s based on the Ford V4.



From 1973 to 1980, 48,000 Bagheera cars were produced, which were superb but had a poor Simca 4-cylinder engine.



It was replaced by the slightly more powerful Murena.



Matra produced a family utility vehicle with a rather attractive design: the Rancho. From 1977 to 1984, with 56,500 units produced, it was a kind of early SUV.



They then designed and produced the Renault Espace, launching the minivan trend in Europe.



Renault decided to produce the Espace in-house, leaving Matra to produce the Avantime, which was a failure.



Matra's automotive division was subsequently split up and sold off.

I forgot to mention, it also produced sports cars and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.