The Matra M530 is a
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
created and built by the French engineering group
Matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and we ...
.
Development
In 1965 Matra's CEO
Jean-Luc Lagardère
Jean-Luc Lagardère (10 February 1928, Aubiet – 14 March 2003, Paris) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates.
Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supelec'' engineer. He began his caree ...
decided to develop a successor to the
Matra Djet
The Matra Djet is a French sports car that was originally designed and sold by René Bonnet. As the Bonnet Djet it was the world's first rear mid-engined production road car. Different versions of the car were produced from 1962 until 1967 and sol ...
that was more appealing to the non-racing public - a ''voiture des copains'' (car for chums). The result was the Matra M530, the first "true" Matra sports car, the Djet having been a
René Bonnet
René Bonnet (Vaumas, 27 December 1904 – 13 January 1983) was a French driver and automobile constructor.
Early life
The young René first learned about machines working with his father, a carpenter. By 1915, with most teachers conscripted, R ...
design. The car was named after Matra's
R.530
The Matra R.530 is a French medium to short range air-to-air missile.
It was available in infrared homing and semi active radar homing as the main armament of the Mirage III which was able to carry a single missile in the centerline, the Mirage ...
missile, and was designed by former
Simca
Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...
designer Philippe Guédon.
Like its predecessor, the M530 was built on a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
with
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
body and a
mid-engine
In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.
History
The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
layout. To accommodate
2+2
Two Two (투투) was a Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern ...
seating, a mid-mounted engine and a reasonable boot, various engine options were considered. In the end, the running gear came from
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
in Germany, akin to the
Ford Mustang I
The Ford Mustang I is a small, mid-engined (4-cylinder), open two-seater concept car with aluminium body work that was built by Ford in 1962. Although it shared few design elements with the final production vehicle, it did lend its name to the li ...
prototype the "high compression" 1699 cc
Ford Taunus V4 engine
The Ford Taunus V4 engine is a 60° V4 (engine), V4 piston engine with one balance shaft, introduced by Ford Motor Company in Germany in 1962. The German V4 was built in the Cologne plant and powered the Ford Taunus and German versions of the Ford ...
and
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
from the
Taunus 15M TS were chosen and mounted in a
transaxle
A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions.
Engine and drive at the ...
layout. This combination was compact enough to fit between the rear seats and the boot.
Other noteworthy features of the M530 were its
targa top
Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsch ...
roof,
pop-up headlights
Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not ...
and, most notably, the outstanding
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
design.
M530/M530 A
![Matra M530a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Matra_M530a.jpg)
The first M530 (badged ''Matra Sports M530'') was shown to the public on March 7, 1967 at the
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
. It had a 70 DIN
hp Ford 1699 cc
V4 engine
A V4 engine is a four-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The V4 engine is less common compared to straight-four engines. However, V4 engines have been used in automobiles ...
, which gave the car a top speed of . It entered production a month later, incorporating modifications that included the addition of a chrome bumper bar to provide much-needed protection from parking shunts for the front grill, a modest reshaping of the dashboard to give the passenger a little more knee room, and the repositioning of the ignition key to facilitate access.
In its first two production years, the chassis was built by Carrier in
Alençon
Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people).
History
The name of Alençon is firs ...
and assembly was undertaken by French coachbuilder
Brissonneau et Lotz
Brissonneau et Lotz was a French locomotive engineering company, engaged in the manufacture of railway locomotives and wagons. The company was also a supplier of rolling stock to the Paris Metro, constructing in 1951 the first metro trains in the ...
at
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...
. The engine bay of the early model M530 was accessible by removing the
acrylic glass
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...
rear window.
![MatraM530 SoniaDelaunay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/MatraM530_SoniaDelaunay.JPG)
French artist
Sonia Delaunay
Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...
painted an M530 at the special request of Matra's CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère in 1968. That same year
Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale presented a custom bodied M530 coupé at the Geneva show.
The car appeared again in Turin with some modifications and a new paint scheme.
1969 brought many changes to the M530. Firstly, the running gear followed the same evolution as the Ford model it was taken from and power increased to 75 DIN hp by using a different
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
. Secondly, Matra closed a deal with
Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca, British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested these ...
, to sell their cars through the Simca dealer network from 1970 onwards and jointly develop the M530's successor. Finally, the cars were now constructed completely at the Matra Automobiles factory in
Romorantin
Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent of ...
and badged M530 A.
The British magazine "
Autocar" tested a Matra M530 A in March 1969. The car had a top speed of and accelerated from 0- in 15.6 seconds. An "overall" fuel consumption of was recorded. This put it significantly behind the similarly priced
Lotus Elan +2
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
on performance, but the two cars were closely matched on fuel economy. The
Ford-powered Matra's £2,160 manufacturer's recommended price was a little lower than the £2,244 price on the Lotus, but both were massively undercut by the £1,217 then being asked for the
MG MGB GT which, although based on an older simpler design, sold in greater numbers. Also included in the price comparison was the
Porsche 912
The Porsche 912 is a sports car produced by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, for the 1965 through 1969 model years. An entry-level variant of the 911, it was also offered in compact 2+2 Coupé and Targa body styles. The nimble-handling 912 was a ...
then being offered in the UK with a manufacturer's recommended retail price of £2,894. The testers commended the Matra's refinement, handling and steering, soundness of construction and finish, while noting that its performance was 'not outstanding'.
M530 LX
Introduced at the
1970 Geneva Motor Show was the ''Matra Sports M530 LX'', which was a minor redesign of the M530 A by
Michelotti. The most notable changes were the rear hatch (now made of glass and held open with struts like a
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
) and the front bumper.
M530 SX
A budget version of the M530, the ''Matra Sports M530 SX'', was introduced in October 1971 with a price below the psychological barrier of 20,000
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
.
The SX lacks the targa top roof, and instead of pop-up headlights there were four fixed headlights mounted on top of the front. The only available colours were yellow and white, and the SX featured black bumpers instead of the LX's chrome bumpers.
Production numbers
Production of the M530 ceased in 1973 after a total of 9,609 cars (2,062 M530, 1,669 M530 A, 4,731 M530 LX and 1,146 M530 SX) were built.
The Matra M530
/ref>
No right-hand drive
Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...
M530s were built.
Technical specifications
References
{{Matra car timeline
1970s cars
Cars introduced in 1967
Matra vehicles
Sports cars
Mid-engined cars
Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles