Matra's earliest Grand Prix cars ...
Originally an aeronautics manufacturer, Matra expanded to the automotive industry by acquiring the ailing Rene Bonnet company in the early 1960s. Within a few years, the French company produced a successful range of sports cars and single seaters. With backing from the government, Matra stepped up to Formula 1 in 1968. An inspired move was to employ the services of team manager Ken Tyrrell and his hugely talented protege driver Jackie Stewart, who had already successfully competed in Formula 2 with a Matra. Based on one of these four-cylinder engined machines was Matra's very first Formula 1 car; the MS9 Cosworth. Powered by the newly available Ford Cosworth DFV engine, it mainly served as a test and development vehicle. Stewart nevertheless managed to qualify the unique MS9 on the front row at its sole Grand Prix outing. In recent years, it has been meticulously restored to its original configuration and we captured it while displayed at the fabulous Donington Grand Prix Collection.
All the lessons learned with the F2-based MS9 were used to create a pair of Matra MS10s used for the remainder of the 1968 season. After some teething problems in the car's first Grands Prix, Stewart scored a breakthrough victory at Zandvoort. This was the first Formula 1 World Championship win for a French car. Stewart added three more victories to the MS10's tally, including a remarkable win during a rain-soaked German Grand Prix, where he beat the nearest rival by a startling four minutes. In 1969, the Scotsman would claim his first World Championship with the new Matra MS80. Both MS10s survive and we have captured the pair in full detail with this 36-shot gallery. The chassis used by Stewart to score each of the four victories is shown in a variety of aero configurations, all of which were used during the 1968 season.
Enjoy the links:
1968 Matra MS9 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information
1968 Matra MS10 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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