The Matra MS84 was the fifth

Formula One car A Formula One car (also known as an F1 car) is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel formula racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and an engine positioned behind the driver, intended to be used in competition at Formul ...

produced by

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 w ...

(following the MS9, MS10, MS11 and MS80).

Development

The car was built at Matra's

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

base at

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in the southwestern suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, designed under the direction of

Bernard Boyer Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

and built by Jean Bee (a.k.a. "Bunny") under the direction of Legan. It was run by the

Matra International The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the e ...

team of

Ken Tyrrell Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Autom ...

with full technical support from Matra and the financial backing of

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. Although it has a family resemblance with the MS80 with which Matra won the 1969 Constructors' Championship, it is a completely different car with a steel tube chassis instead of an aluminium monocoque. At the back the engine is mounted back-to-front with the gearbox and transfer case directly behind the driver. The four wheel drive system was designed by Derek Gardner of Harry Ferguson Research. The Ferguson transmission and other necessary additions left the car much heavier than the two-wheel drive MS80s (635 kg with no fuel).

Racing history

Like the

Lotus 63 The Lotus 63 was an experimental Formula One car using four-wheel drive, designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1969 season. Chapman's reasoning behind the car was that the 3 litre engines introduced in 1966 would be better served ...

, the MS84 made its first appearance at the Dutch Grand Prix, where

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

tried the car out but opted to use his MS80, as he would for the rest of the season. The car was still present at all the remaining races as a spare, and at Silverstone

Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at t ...

gave the car its first race and came home ninth, six laps behind Stewart's two-wheel drive Matra (but three laps ahead of John Miles's Lotus 63). By the next time the car raced, the front differential had been disconnected and the car effectively ran as an over-weight MS80 with inboard front brakes, memorably giving the lie to

Johnny Servoz-Gavin Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006) was a French motor racing driver in both sportscars and single seaters. He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1967 and 1970, failing to qu ...

's protestations about the 4WD car being "''undriveable''" after he finished the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a spor ...

six laps down in sixth place. Servoz-Gavin also drove the car at Watkins Glen, finishing 16 laps down and unclassified, and finally in Mexico, crossing the line "just" two laps down in eighth place. Although there was a project for a 4WD Matra MS 124, the MS84 was never replaced.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) Includes 9 points scored using a Matra MS10 and 57 points scored using a Matra MS80.

References

*Matra : La Saga by José Rosinski - E.T.A.I. 2001
Information about the MS84 at primotipo.com
;Specific {{F1 cars 1969 Matra MS084 Formula One championship-winning cars All-wheel-drive vehicles