MATRA AND THE BAGHEERA
In the UK we tend to associate the Matra name with motor racing, but the reach of this innovative French business went far beyond motorsport. In fact the activities of Mecanique Aviation Traction – or Matra for short – covered a wide range of activities including aeronautics and military weaponry, the business being linked to companies such as BAe, Marconi, Nortel and Daimler/Chrysler.
Matra was formed in 1945 by Marcel Chassagny to develop a fast twin engined plane, and a Matra-built engine was used in the first aircraft to break the sound barrier in horizontal flight in Europe in 1951. In 1957 Sylvain Floirat injected much needed finance, allowing the company to diversify its manufacturing base. Matra also became involved with motor racing, securing successes in several F2 championships during the 1960s, before moving into F1 and becoming the victors in the 1969 championship with Jackie Stewart at the wheel. Matra then turned to sports cars, winning at Le Mans in 1972, 1973 and 1974, as well as the Manufacturers Sports Car Championship in 1973 and ’74.
Meanwhile, in the early 1960s Matra had become involved with Automobiles René Bonnet, manufacturers of low volume sports cars featuring GRP bodies and tuned Renault engines, after René Bonnet split from Charles Deutsch and the Deutsch Bonnet business in 1961. Matra’s GRP facility based in Romorantin just south of Paris produced missile bodies, its spare capacity being filled by manufacturing the bodies for the iconic Bonnet Djet sports coupé. Matra’s association with Bonnet matured in 1964 when Matra CEO Jean-Luc Lagardere acquired the rights to the brand, which became the Matra Automobile Division of the parent company. Matra brought in Phillipe Guedon, an ex-Simca engineer, to improve the design of
