Matra Djet the original super car

looks like a castrated E-Type...LOL

 

In 1962 it was a René Bonnet,the birth of Matra is october 1964.

 

Seriously? A 1000cc 65hp engine makes a supercar? I don't think so.

Besides that, in terms of mind-blowing supercars that were leaps and bounds above their contemporaries on the road in terms of expense, style and speed, the '55 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing beat the Matra... and the'35 Auburn Speedster beat the Benz... and the Stutz Bearcat beat the Auburn... so that makes the 1912 Stutz Bearcat the actual, original supercar.

That said, everybody knows that, regardless of where the engine is, or who was first, the Miura is the one that forged the trend, the one that birthed the revolution, the one that deserves the "original" moniker.




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The reason the Miura is known as the first supercar, it it had no racing brethern. The 300SL Gullwing was a street version of a race car, it had a different image. The Miura existed not to race, but to simply be super. You *might* be able to find a car for similar purpose that predates it, but there is nothing iconic in today's society that comes to mind.

 

The reason the Miura is called the Original Supercar is because it is the first car to be specifically called a "super car" by the print media.

It's that simple, nothing to do with race heritage, or a lack thereof.

 

They couldn't say the latest "racing car" because it wasn't built for racing. Ferrari's mid engined 250LM would of been called their latest racing car. They needed some other fantastic term as they couldn't call it a racing car, so super car was invented. If it had of gone racing first, it would of been known as a race car instead of super car.

I would also say that to a younger generation, the Countach is really the first supercar, its outlandish styling and high power certainly earns it. The Miura, although my favorite, seems just a tad tame compared to the Countach.

 

The real story was told to me over pints at the local pub - turns out a journalist was visiting a friend in Southern Spain, and he stumbled across one of the early cars that had been sold to a local industrialist.

Journalist: Wow! What car is that?
Friend: That's the Super's car. He just bought it.
Journalist: A Super Car, you say?
Friend: Si, the Super's car.

The rest, as they say . . .

 

I own one of the seven or eight Matra's in the US today. Trust me when I say this; The Djet could never, ever be considered 'super'.

Fun, light, interesting to drive. Cool history, and heritage but I'll forgo the 'super' badge thank you very much.

 

Lots of cars they could have called a supercar for innumerable reasons, but fate chose the Miura. I just don't put Lamborghini's lack of racing pedigree as any of the reason the Miura was labeled as such. Why wasn't the 275GTB a supercar? It wasn't a racing car, it was a street car that could be raced. Why wasn't the E-Type a supercar? It was fastest, most beautiful and the rich and famous were seen in them often.

It amounts to one line of text defining a car, which we all know can't be done.

 

I'm not talking about any of that. I'm talking about perception. Because the words "super car" are used in the media, the Miura is perceived to be a "super car" and since it was the first to be labeled such it is said to be "the original super car". It's all marketing.

It has nothing to do with where the engine is, what year it was built or who won what while wheeling it. The magazines could have said in 1965 "the 275GTB transcends normal cars and is truly a super car" and today we would be calling the 275GTB "the original super car".

But they didn't, they picked that particular bit of hyperbole out of the bag for the Miura and the rest is history. Could have happened to any performance car until then, and since then we've been trying to define just what it means.

 

By chance I was so lucky to have the chance to drive a (D)Jet 6 from 1968 just recently. Its powered by a 1.300 cc Renault Gordini 105 HP engine and its weight is only 730 kg.

The little car impressed me by its pure cornering speed, sound and smell.
Compared to modern cars its not really fast but for 1968 standards it was in the 1.300 cc class one of the fastest cars.

As long as you don`t need to have a "famous badge" on your cars bonnet
and if you like the french little sport
cars of the "Sixties" then it you will be delighted to drive it.

Its worth to visit the Matra Museum situated in the old Matra productions hall at Romorantin and the top Matra restauration company EPAF, run by former Matra employers and members of the Matra racing team, in the same village.