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41-465: The Murena, whose name is Italian for "Moray", was the successor to the Matra Bagheera , a similar vehicle that resulted from an earlier collaboration between Matra and Simca . Development proceeded under two project names; "M551" for the 1.6-litre version and "M552" for the 2.2-litre version. The prototype received designation P-551 and was accompanied by a series of mockups. The Murena inherited

82-401: A common cast-aluminum sump that also carried a common oil supply for the engine. At the non-drive end another aluminum casting assured the alignment of the blocks while at the drive end a steel adapter fit the ends of both crankshafts. A sprocket and Morse chain from each crankshaft were connected to a 22.9 mm (0.9 in) shaft running down the middle of the sump that transmitted power from

123-421: A drag coefficient ( C d {\displaystyle \scriptstyle C_{\mathrm {d} }\,} ) of 0.33 for the early models. This rose slightly to 0.35 after a mid-life redesign. The chassis was fabricated of pressed steel. While it has been called a space-frame it more closely resembled a unitary body. The shapes of some pieces were simplified to accommodate the low production numbers that

164-641: A few months later by the 2.2. Production of the Matra Murena ended in July 1983, when the Matra factory switched over to building the first generation of Renault Espace minivan. In 1981, a Murena prepared by Politecnic and equipped with an engine built by Bernard “Nanard” Mangé and Dany Snobeck (operating under the name “SODEMO”) was entered in the Rallye Monte Carlo. This was with limited result and

205-403: A lengthy trip he took in a Ford Taunus station wagon with two colleagues. The back of the car was so full that the travelers sat three across in the front of the car. The M550 sat three abreast. Eleven prototypes were built and used for road-testing in environments ranging from Saharan Mauritania to Lapland , as well as for crash-testing. Development was complete by the end of 1972. The car

246-472: A unique " U engine " out of two existing Simca straight-4 engines. The blocks came from two different Simca applications and rotated in opposite directions but shared the same 1294 cc displacement. One block was from the 1100Ti and was adapted to transverse mounting while the other was from the Simca 1000 Rallye II in which it had been mounted longitudinally. The two blocks were joined at an 82° angle using

287-698: Is a sports car built by the automotive division of the French engineering group Matra from 1973 to 1980, in cooperation with automaker Simca . It was marketed as the Matra-Simca Bagheera until its final year of production, when its designation was changed to the Talbot-Matra Bagheera following Chrysler Europe 's demise and subsequent takeover by PSA . In December 1969 Matra and Simca entered into an agreement that rebranded Matra's racing cars as Matra-Simcas and give Matra access to

328-441: The 1973 24 Heures du Mans . At the same time Simca had arranged to have 500 yellow Bagheeras available at their dealers across France. Towards the end of 1973, production levels had reached 65 cars per day. In June 1974, within eighteen months of its release, more than 10,000 Bagheeras had been sold. The initial shape of the car was drawn by Jean Toprieux and later refined by Jacques Nochet. Greek designer Antonis Volanis joined

369-659: The Lancia Monte Carlo , and losing only in sheer agility to the Fiat X1/9 , while it shows up the Porsche 911 as ill-balanced and inept" and went on write that this "is one of the most sweetly responsive cars that ever offered a driver a choice of how to steer through a bend." In the end he felt that the car would benefit from more power. Production of the 1981 model-year Murena 1.6 began in November 1980, followed

410-637: The Talbot Solara , front indicator and running lights from the Renault 12 , and door handles from the Peugeot 505 . The Murena's chassis was a new design. In appearance it was very close to a full unitary body. The chassis differed from the Bagheera's in two significant ways; the rear cradle was reconfigured to accommodate a new rear suspension system, and the entire chassis was galvanised to prevent

451-481: The 1900 cc Opel Manta SR at DM 13,990. The Bagheera won the ADAC Silberne Zitrone ("Silver Lemon") award in 1975 for the poorest quality car at the time. Complaints ranged from a leaky body that allowed rain to enter the cabin to mechanical failures. Few Bagheeras survive today, and the cause is usually extensive corrosion of the steel chassis. While the polyester body panels do not rust,

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492-482: The Bagheera this ohv straight-4 engine developed 62.6 kW (84 hp) at 6000 rpm, two more horsepower than in the 1100 Ti. The transversely mounted engine was paired with the 4-speed manual transaxle from the 1100. In 1976 a larger version of the same engine became available when the 1,442 cc (88.0 cu in) engine from the Simca 1308 GT was added to the lineup. The first Bagheera to use this engine

533-402: The Bagheera's mid-engined layout and hatchback body shape, but substantial changes were made to address some of the problems with the previous model, among which were a lack of power, absence of a 5-speed transmission option, and a chassis extremely prone to rust. Engineering of the car was done entirely by Matra. Greek industrial designer Antonis Volanis , who had contributed to the interior of

574-463: The Murena from falling victim to the rust problems that plagued the Bagheera. The Murena was the first production car to use galvanised steel for all chassis parts. The car was only built in a left hand drive configuration, although a small number of right hand drive conversions were done by Wooler-Hodec. Like the chassis, the styling for the Murena was all-new. The final shape was very aerodynamic for

615-623: The Simca dealer network in France and the Common Market. The first joint project of the new liaison was development of a replacement for the Matra 530 , which had not reached either its targeted market or its projected sales volumes. Work on the new car began in 1970 under project code M550. Development was led by Matra's head of engineering and design Philippe Guédon and Chrysler-Simca product planner Jacques Rousseau. Additional direction for

656-407: The base model, Politecnic only used modified 2.2s, either with ROC engines or SODEMO prepared engines. Race-tuned Murenas prepared by Politecnic produced the following results: Drivers included Jean-Pierre Beltoise , Max Mamers , Rémy Julienne , Jean-Pierre Jaussaud , Johnny Servoz-Gavin , Jean-Claude Andruet , Marcel Morel and Philippe Wambergue. Matra Bagheera The Matra Bagheera

697-469: The car retired early. Later the same car was entered in the 1981 1000 Pistas (laps) Rally. The car was driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and the co-driver was singer Véronique Jannot . The car retired early, due to failed engine mounting. Cars were prepared by Marcel Morel (Maurelec) and Politecnic for the French Rallyecross championship, of which Morel was the only one to use a Murena 1.6 as

738-489: The car was built in. The front suspension was from the Simca 1100 . It consisted of upper and lower A-arms with telescopic hydraulic dampers and longitudinal torsion bars running back along the chassis for springing. An anti-roll bar was fitted at the front as well. The rear of the M550 prototype used the same type of suspension as the front, moved rearward along with the engine and transaxle. This proved unsatisfactory and so

779-483: The car's early development stage. Problems with the car's finish served to hamper sales when new, and in 1975 the Bagheera received German ADAC 's "Silver Lemon" award for being the new car with the most problems. The Bagheera won the 1973 Style Auto Award, beating out competition that included the Lancia Stratos , Lancia Beta coupé and Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 . The Bagheera was also very aerodynamic, with

820-417: The composite panels made the car essentially immune to rust, except for the rear suspension's trailing arms . Over its production life the car was offered in a range of ten colours; platinum metallic, white neve, coral metallic, green Hudson, bordeau, red mephisto, titanium gray, cinnamon metallic, yellow mimosa, and blue Colombia. The front suspension was similar to the Bagheera's, while the rear suspension

861-469: The design was provided by Chrysler-Simca planner Marc Honoré. Honoré identified Simca's strongest market as being cars displacing between 1.3 and 1.5 litres and suggested the team focus on building a car of that class, which would constrain the size of the car if performance was to be acceptable. As many as possible of the major components were sourced from the Chrysler-Simca parts inventory. Although

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902-473: The earlier Bagheera and been principal designer for the Matra Rancho, headed up the design. The Murena drew heavily from the corporate parts bin, using engines from the Talbot Solara and Talbot Tagora , a transaxle developed by Citroën for their Citroën CX and also used in some Lancia Beta models, Talbot Horizon taillamp clusters fitted with custom lenses, steering rack and front suspension from

943-489: The engine, gearbox and many suspension elements came directly from the Simca 1100, this new Matra was to be a mid-engined car rather than front-wheel drive like the donor car. Chrysler-Simca's planners also wanted a car with more than just two seats. Guédon agreed, but he was also not satisfied with the 2+2 arrangement used in the M530, feeling that the rear seats were too small to be really useful. The solution came to him on

984-520: The final production cars received a new system that comprised new trailing arms designed by Matra with transverse torsion bars and telescopic shock-absorbers. An anti-roll bar was also fitted at the rear. No right-hand-drive Bagheeras were ever built by the factory, but a number were converted to RHD by Wooler-Hodec in England. The only engine offered at first was the 1,294 cc (79.0 cu in) "Poissy engine" from Simca's 1100 Ti model. In

1025-584: The last 480 Murenas came with this uprated engine directly from the factory. This version was called the Murena S. The standard 2.2-litre engine used a single Solex down-draught carburetor, but S models had twin side-draught Solex carburetors. The Murena received a 5-speed manual transaxle derived from that of the Citroën CX (or depending on the model year the Lancia Beta). Different models of Murena used different final-drive ratios but all Murenas used

1066-618: The left-hand crank to the right. Each block retained its own crankshaft, distributor, and water pump. The clutch and bell-housing of the engine from the Rallye II engine provided the transaxle mounting while a flywheel was only mounted to the 1100Ti crankshaft. The resulting 2,588 cc (157.9 cu in) 8-cylinder assembly was fitted with four Weber 36 DCNF carburetors and, with a 9.8:1 compression ratio, produced 126 kW (169.0 hp) at 6200 rpm and 216 N⋅m (159.3 lb⋅ft) at 4000 rpm. The car required modifications to accept

1107-467: The middle seat folding down to become an armrest when not in use by a passenger. In the Murena the three seats were separate, in contrast to the 2+1 arrangement in the Bagheera. The car's twelve major body panels were made of fibreglass - epoxy . According to Matra's general manager, Jean-Louis Caussin, these body panels were produced using a manufacturing process known as the "sheet moulding compound" moulding process. The new galvanised chassis coupled with

1148-417: The new engine. Additional air-intakes were let into the sides of the car ahead of the rear wheels. The overall length rose by 431.8 mm (17 in) and the wheelbase rose by 230 mm (9.1 in). Overall width increased by 20 mm (0.8 in) due to the addition of larger wheel arches added to clear wider tires, which were 185/70 VR14s at the front and 205/70 VR14s at the rear. The front suspension

1189-449: The output shaft being offset 127.0 mm (5 in) to the right the half-shafts were of unequal lengths. Top speed for the car was reported to have been 232 km/h (144.2 mph). Even though the project was announced in the autumn of 1973, said to be production ready by 1974, and survived until 1975, Chrysler Europe was unwilling to approve the project due to the developing fuel crises as well as its own financial problems. Thus,

1230-417: The panels was called `LP', and it used a low-pressure high-temperature pressing method to produce panels using relatively inexpensive tooling. The advantages of using LP for Matra were its ability to produce large, high quality panels with precision and economy. The LP process had only been in use for twelve month prior to the beginning of production, which means that Matra had introduced this new technology at

1271-405: The passenger side was a single two-place bench with two individual seatbacks inspired by a lounge chair Guédon had found in a Paris shop. Seen in plan view it is apparent that the body sides are slightly convex to accommodate the seating. The 19 panels that made up the Bagheera's body were made of fiberglass -reinforced polyester , which were then attached to the chassis. The process used to make

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1312-464: The problem was caused by the underlying steel chassis having almost no corrosion protection. Matra learned from this and fully galvanized the chassis of the Bagheera's successor, the Matra Murena . In March 1973 a team of Matra engineers led by Georges Pinardaud completed the initial design for project M560, which was to be a more powerful Bagheera. A key part of the project was the creation of

1353-419: The project and contributed to the interior, handling the instrument panel and steering wheel shapes. The body's shape was that of a sleek hatchback with hidden headlights . The rear hatch opened to access the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment and a rear luggage space. The unusual three-abreast seating dictated by Guédon was implemented as a 2+1 arrangement. The driver had a regular seat while on

1394-478: The same transaxle. In the May 1981 issue of Car magazine, in an article titled "Murena the marvellous", automotive journalist LJK Setright described the Murena as being "endowed with a suspension so superb that it need never go slowly". He also wrote that, although not a sprinter, when it came to sustaining high speeds on winding roads "the Murena ranks high — better than the basic Porsche 924 , every bit as good as

1435-405: The time, with a reported drag coefficient ( C d {\displaystyle \scriptstyle C_{\mathrm {d} }\,} ) of 0.328. The rear hatch opened to provide access to the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment and a rear luggage area. A signature feature carried over from the previous model was the seating arrangement - all three seats were placed in one row, with

1476-446: Was a departure from the Murena's predecessor. In the tradition of the Simca 1100, Talbot Alpine, and Talbot Horizon, at the front were upper and lower transverse A-arms with longitudinal torsion bars and telescopic hydraulic shock-absorbers. An anti-roll bar was also fitted. At the rear, the Bagheera's torsion bar suspension was replaced by semi-trailing arms with coil springs mounted on telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers. An anti-roll bar

1517-419: Was also fitted at the rear. Two engines were offered. The base model had a 1.6-litre Poissy engine , while the more powerful version came with a 2.2-litre Type 180 . The 2.2-litre engine could also be ordered with a performance package called the "Préparation 142" option that raised the power output from 118 PS (87 kW) to 142 PS (104 kW). This kit was initially a dealer-installed option, but

1558-469: Was built in Matra's factory in the commune of Romorantin-Lanthenay in the department of Loir-et-Cher in central France. Rather than being sold under its development code name, the car took its name from the character in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book . The Bagheera was unveiled to the press at an event held at Lake Annecy on April 14, 1973. The public release of the car took place at

1599-686: Was recorded against 176.5 km/h (110 mph) for an Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior , despite the Alfa's claim of an extra 3 bhp. The French car's acceleration also bettered the Italian's, taking 12.2 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) against the Alfa's 13.5 seconds. The Matra-Simca's DM 14,198 price tag was somewhat lower than the DM 14,490 listed for the Alfa Romeo, although both were undercut on price by models from mass market producers such as

1640-477: Was the newly introduced `S' version. Changes were also made to the carburation. A 4-speed manual was still the only transmission offered. Early in 1974 the German Magazine Auto, Motor und Sport tested a 1294 cc Bagheera and compared it to its closest competitors in the market. The car's light weight served it well in the performance comparisons: a top speed of 186.5 km/h (116 mph)

1681-423: Was unchanged from the original but at the rear suspension was now by lateral links, trailing arms, and coil springs. The car also received ventilated disk brakes and 5-lug wheels. The first prototype used a modified production chassis, while subsequent prototypes used a chassis made of tubular steel. The engine was mounted longitudinally behind the driver and drove the wheels through a Porsche 5-speed transaxle. Due to

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