In 1963, Engins Matra, a large airplane and armaments company, took over the assets of a small sports car company run by René Bonnet. Bonnet was at the forefront of French motor racing, and was unfortunately much better at building cars than running a business. To support his competition exploits, Bonnet unveiled three cars at the 1962 Paris Salon. The top range of these three cars was his pioneering D’jet (derived from his racing prototype). It has the distinction of being the world’s first mid-engined production race car. Matra continued producing the D´jet–a fiberglass coupè. This is a central backbone/fiberglass body configuration, using Renault running gear. The engine is mounted in the middle of the car. Total weight is about 1000 pounds. The D´jet was a very successful road and race car.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: MatraSports
Country of Origin: France
Drivetrain Configuration: Gordini-tuned 1108 cc Renault engine
Engine: 79 bhp
Transmission: 4 speed manual
Top Speed: 110 miles per hour
Years of Production: Early 1960s-73
Number Produced: Less than 1,500
Original Cost: Unknown
A Note About the Display of Our Collection
Thank you for viewing our collection online! Please note that our collection contains over 330 cars and motorcycles though we only have room to display approximately 150 at a time. Therefore, the item you are viewing may not be on display when you visit the museum in person.
