Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: A Bonneville Dream: The Matra MS640 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
"I can only hope the lucky buyer actually runs this car the way it was truly meant to be run… Wide open." That would be cool...and hilarious if it went airborne again. It's surprising that they knew so little about aerodynamics in 1969 that cars left the runway at a slower speed than a commercial jet. Men walked on the moon, Ford put a cheater aero roof on a Galaxy to run at Daytona in 1963 but a LeMans car flew six years later? WTF? Maybe those redneck NASCAR guys could have taught those snobby Yuropeens something. OTOH that replica Matra is probably the coolest car you can buy anywhere this year.
It's definitely a very stylish curvaceous car. I'll have to admit though; I don't understand why would you want to run a car flat out that has a known problem with staying grounded? Maybe with some modifications, but would it still be the same car?
That crash didn’t end Matra’s racing. They won Le Mans in 72, 73, 74, World Championship For Makes in 73 and 74 (they’d already won F1 with Jackie Stewart in 69)
"That crash was the end of Matra’s more radical racing pursuits, and the small French company would pull out of racing all together just 5 years later."
That's a beautiful duplicate/replica! As noted, if lift was the original issue, it wouldn't fair to well on the Salt. One can dream, for sure! I'd love to see that giant Benz six wheeler that the war effort stalled either finished or copied! Closer to home, if Shuten and Co. fabbed up the old Moonliner, that would be sweet!!!
BNI/SCTA roll cage rules are pretty tough. I wouldn’t want to be the constructor for one in that type of vehicle..
I'm the guy who brought the Renault Etoile Filante back to Bonneville in 2016, 60 years after its records. It’s great to see that some people remember this adventure, thanks Jive! For information, - the Renault Etoile Filante's speed records are still valid 60 years later! - the guy who drives the Renault Etoile Filante in 2016 was the so nice Nicolas Prost, son of of the great Alain Prost - Nicolas obtained a (very modest) record that year with our stock Dauphine (I don't know if it is still valid!) It was a lifelong dream for the team to be at Bonneville for the 2nd time (the first time was with a Renault 4 van with a group 4 version of Renault 5 turbo engine). The current safety rules are completely understandable but they unfortunately prevent historic cars from being driven at Bonneville without heavy modifications. Perhaps the organizers should imagine special demonstration runs, even with limited speeds? I don't know...
I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the wacky blue French racers/land speed record cars in person, they're tiny little treats: The aforementioned Renault Etoile Filante: Another Renault, the 1934 Nervasport des Records: 1953 Longchamp de Coucy 350, a 350cc land speed racer: 1964 Panhard CD LM64: this 78-hp wonder and its twin ran in Le Mans in '64, but unfortunately neither finished. They are notable for having an amazing drag coefficient of 0.12, making them by most accounts the most aerodynamic cars ever raced. I'm assuming it never went fast enough to become airborne.