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.
By 1980, the Bagheera had been replaced by Project M551, or the Murena. It was designed by Greek stylist Antonis Volanis, who also worked on both the M530 and the Bagheera.
Matra’s 530 was the first all-Matra road car design, carrying over the mid-engine architecture of its predecessor, the Jet (neé D’jet) series. The polarizing design was led by Philippe Guédon (later, best known for the Renault Espace) and styling was by a Simca stylist on loan, Jacques Nocher.
This vehicle was created as a promotional vehicle for the McQuay-Norris Company of St. Louis, Missouri, which manufactured replacement pistons, rings, bearings, and other parts used to rebuild an engines.
One of the most famous names in automotive history, Daimler-Benz (“Mercedes” was only a Benz model name in 1901; the company became known as Mercedes-Benz in 1926) can trace its roots back to 1889 and the first motorcar, Karl Benz’s PatentMotorwagen.
In August 1965 the new W 108 body/chassis platform was unveiled to replace the 220 and 300 “Fintail” sedans. The Mercedes-Benz 280S seen here displays all of the comfort and spaciousness the S-class 4-door Luxury Sedan bodies had to offer.
One of the oldest and most famous names in automobile history is Mercedes. The company began building cars in 1901. Daimler-Benz factories suffered greatly during World War II, but their recovery after the war was dramatic.
The Messerschmitt was one of the first and among the most successful of the many microcars that hit the motoring scene in the 1950s. Although it bears the name of the famous aircraft builder–Willy Messerschmitt–he had little to do with the car’s design.
The MG B proved even more successful than its predecessor the MG A. In 1965 came a coupé version–the MG B GT, which had an attractive and functional closed version of the standard body.
The M Type shown here was MG’s first high volume sports car. Simple and fairly reliable, the M Type offered reasonable performance at a very low price.
This Group B rally car was designed and built under contract by Williams Grand Prix (Formula 1) Engineering. Unlike other top rally cars at the time, it was naturally aspirated rather than turbocharged.
The MG Midget is essentially the same car as the Austin Healey Sprite. This Midget has been modified for racing by bhp developments and was raced by Jeff Lane in S.C.C.A.
In 1936, the MG (which stands for Morris Garages) Car Company began production of the T-series. The MGTA Midget and the MGTB were produced pre-WWII. After the war, MG was back in production quicker than most British companies.
The MG TC hit the market immediately after the war, following on the success of the pre-war MG TA and TB. While the cycle-fendered example seen here differs outwardly from a standard MG TC, it also has a hidden surprise – under the hood lies a period hot-rod engine, complete with a Coventry-built Shorrock supercharger.
