Matra models

Matra is a French engineering group whose name stands for Mécanique Aviation Traction. It entered the car business in 1964 by taking over Automobiles René Bonnet, and its first Matra-branded road car was the Renault-powered Djet. The car factory was at Romorantin.

Matra also made its mark in motorsport. It won the Formula One drivers' and constructors' championships in 1969 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Its road cars included the M530, the three-seat Matra Bagheera, the Murena and the Rancho, an early SUV-style estate. The car business was sold to Chrysler Europe in the early 1970s and bought back by Lagardère in 1983. From 1984 Matra built the Renault Espace for its first three generations, and from 2001 the Renault Avantime. In February 2003 the closure of the Romorantin factory was announced, and Pininfarina took over the engineering business. See also Simca, Talbot and Renault.