Matra

[Matra et Alpine]

Well ive got to admit i have no idea about the car you just mentioned and the onlyinfo i can find on Matra automobiles (ones i quitepersonally like too) are the M530 and the bugheera and the mureena...there is the rancho but im ignoring that.

Matra were the equivalent of Lotus in the 60s and 70s in France.
Produced great, but flawed, sports cars ( I own three )
Won World Rallies - 1-2-3 at Monte - and also Le Mans.
F1 was a mixed bag with success with the Ford engine and great sound with their own V12.
THEY came up with the Espace concept, offered it to their then partner Peugeot who famously decided that there was no market for a people carrier that drove like a saloon. So Renault ended up with the Espace. Renault wouldn't allow them to build sports cars ( they had their own ambitions ).
Some may have been lucky to have seen - or even luckier and been a passenger - in the F1-based Espace built by Matra Engineering using in-house design and Renault F1 parts. I've a vid clip of this somewhere if anyone wanted to see it. Pictures are at http://www.matrasport.dk/Cars/Espace...ry2/index.html

ohh, I've just found the answer for the favourite car thread - The Espace F1, road legal and 0-200kmh in 6.3s
Matra design and prototyping has now been sold to Pininfarina !
The factory, unfortauntely, lies idle and unwanted :-(
Lots of Matra lniks at http://www.matrasport.dk/

[henk4]

Another great marque that passed away because of Renault policies (see also Alpine). They produced some very nice oddballs such as the 530 or even the Rancho which predated the trend to look like offroad vehicles without actually being a long time ago.

Attached is a picture of their first car the Jet, actually a desing taken over from DB. I also found a pic of the 660V12

[Matra et Alpine]

Another great marque that passed away because of Renault policies (see also Alpine). They produced some very nice oddballs such as the 530 or even the Rancho which predated the trend to look like offroad vehicles without actually being a long time ago.

Attached is a picture of their first car the Jet, actually a desing taken over from DB. I also found a pic of the 660V12

The M530 was another beautiful car, but for some ugly !
It's the forgotten ones that Renualt prevented them building like the M25.
Here are soime more to enjoy ,,,