On Matra: La Bagheera, les Trois Places!

"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12) 04/23/2020 at 19:00 • Filed to: None

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The Matra Bagheera. The second real Matra, the first with a real name, one that’s taken from The Jungle Book. Like the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but...different.

I’m going to do a few brief posts about the history of Matra. Because cheap mid-engined cars are cool, and French cars are weird, and I need something to do. Also car content on Oppo can’t hurt. This is part four. (Parts !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ).

Matra are developing a bit of a stigma around naming aren’t they? The Djet had half a hundred names. The M530 kept it simple but was hardly inspirational - it’s just the internal development code after all. But not only does the Bagheera have a name that’s near identical to a car that was produced at the same time, it was sold both as the Matra-Simca Bagheera and the Talbot-Matra Bagheera, due to owner Chrysler Europe collapsing and PSA taking the reins. I can’t tell you much about Simca and Talbot, but I can tell you this is confusing. I’m not sure how adding a random unrelated company’s name to “Matra” makes it more appealing. Can’t we just let Matras be Matras?

The Bagheera was tasked with fixing the perceived failure of the M530, which didn’t hit sales targets despite outselling it’s predecessor 6 fold. I thought the M530 represented an ambitious design executed well, but apparently Matra aren’t so easily pleased. Gone was the MR 2+2 layout I made such a big deal about in my last post, and gone the targa-topped roadster-style body. The Bagheera wore a wedgy hatchback body, with no targa available but an optional and rather generous folding cloth sunroof. For seating they picked an even rarer layout: the 2+1. That is 1 row only, containing a driver’s seat and 2 passenger seats. The thinking was that a sports car carrying 4 passengers was uncommon and the rear seats to accommodate such a thing were too small to be useful, so a single row that could fit 3 adults was more useful and left more room for engine and storage. I question how comfortable even one passenger would be in that narrow seat - one benefit of the 2+2 is that the 2 front seats that get the most use are uncompromised. But what do I know? I’m no Frenchman.

Those babies are n a r r o w

This time the engine was borrowed from the Simca 1100, with many parts being fished out of the Chrysler-Simca parts bin. Displacement was 1.2-1.4 litres with power peaking at 67kW - still less than some variants of Djet, though weight increase was constrained to give a total of 965kg, 30-50kg more than the M530 before it.

Matra used a low-pressure high-temperature pressing method called “LP” to produce cost-effective fiberglass-reinforced polyester body panels for the car. They pioneered this method early in the car’s development, which lead to a large number of problems with early cars including water leakage (ironic given this is the first Matra without a targa top), which didn’t rust the polyester panels but did rust the unprotected chassis. In 1976 the car received a restyling whereby almost every panel of the car was changed in some way, yet even so few Bagheeras exist today.

It’s really not the prettiest car. The rear is quite uninspired, particularly the bland taillights on the pre-’76 models. Its short wheelbase and modest proportions are attractive as is the wedgey nose, though perhaps as a result of the popup headlights, the nose is sort of plain too. One quirk of the Bagheera model range is the Courrèges , all-white inside and out and styled by fashion designer André Courrèges, with two detachable Courrèges handbags mounted on the door cards.

A pre-1976 Courrèges. White on white

Note the designer handbag on the door card. Most unusual.

In 1973 work began on a super-Bagheera developed under the name 560, the 550 being the Bagheera and the 540 being its shelved predecessor after the intended Chrysler 1.8L engine increased pricing too much. The 560 had a U8 engine - that is, an 8 cylinder created by joining two Simca straight-4 engines. The result was a 2.6l engine producing 126kW, roughly twice that of the regular car as you might imagine. 3 prototypes were built with a number of chassis and body changes required to fit the engine, but in the midst of a fuel crisis and its own financial troubles, Chrysler Europe sadly never greenlighted the project. One 560 prototype exists at the Matra museum in Romorantin.

The surviving U8 in museum. Nice seats

Prominent U8 badging. It would seem that this car was quite thoroughly developed, must have been a shame to see it cancelled.

Design exercises. The final car more resembles 550 B, though the round taillights were scrapped in favor of something more “modern”

So did it work? Did the unusual panel pressing process and the weird seating position, and the quality problems and the moderate performance and the financially ruined parent company and the fruitless development of the U8 somehow lead to a sales success? Well, yes. 47,802 Bagheeras were produced between 1973 and 1980, nearly 5 times the number of M530s built. Like Citroens 2CV and DS, this serves as an example that French ingenuity and thinking far outside the box can produce outstanding results. Or it could back then, these days people would be too worried about resale value and the hassle of drawing any attention at all.

Look closer - this is actually a design exercise on the older M530. The roof and rear section is lengthened as an attempt to add more space for rear seats, before the decision was made to cut the second row. Probably this was part of the 540 development

This is a mk2 car with the 1976 facelift. Notice the lightbar spaning the rear, and the full-length rear quarter windows. I suspect this is also a Courrèges

Next up we trade 70s wedge for 80s wedge with the Murena, maybe the prettiest Matra. Maybe the only one that could be called truly pretty without some qualifier such as “...in a French sort of way”.

Jb boin > Nauraushaun 04/23/2020 at 19:19

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Nice report, i also like the Citröenesque steering wheel on them .

And one red panther stretching her legs :

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nauraushaun 04/23/2020 at 19:25

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The Bagheera is unique and quirky but somehow the absense of the ingenious 2+2 packaging and more mundane styling make it a little less interesting.

The 1+2 seating did make it to the next car though, didn’t it? Having been the third person in the back of a VW Eos 4 seater, which has a total seat width probably not much smaller than that, how are you ever going to change gears with passengers?

Here's a question. Which seat would sit in if you were the driver's only passenger? I would straddle the middle bolster.

Nauraushaun > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/23/2020 at 20:19

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The 1+2 seating did continue, but the Murena got 3 proper seats rather than the passenger side getting a weird double seat for 2.

I’m sure each would feel weird. Do you really want to be that close to the driver, or that far away? Suspect shifting gears would include much leg touching.

Nauraushaun > Jb boin 04/23/2020 at 20:20

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Very cool! It’s of course hard to measure, but everything I’ve read suggests they’re a very rare car these days. That thing looks great!