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Other Makes : Matra
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Time left: |
(7/4/2008 3:45:59 AM) |
Seller: |
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Bids: |
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brut68 |
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Current Bid: |
USD 4050 |
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An extremely rare car in the U.S. Only 6 are known to exist here....These cars usually arrived by way of servicemen returning from Europe. Matra the manufacturer is a world reknowned producer of Satellites, guided missiles, rockets, and of course Formula 1,2, and 3 cars as well as LeMans racers..not to mention limited production street machines..From approx. 1964 till 1974 Matra was a very successful racing manufacturer having won the 1969 Formula One Championship as well as winning LeMans three years consecutively...1972-1974.....not to mention countless lesser formula events.......into total Matra amassed 124 victories in only 10 years in competition........It is not a wonder that World Famous Pininfarina had purchased Matra's Engineering Department from the Parent Company...Think of Matra engineering as the French equivalent of Lotus Engineering......Often times Matra cars are considered the French Lotus.....Matra was so advanced in all it's endeavors that it built the Espace Minivan for Renault which is the equivalent of our Chrysler van....both a tremendous success.
This particular car.....the Murena...was the last production model constructed by Matra before Renault purchased a controling interest in that part of the company....Renault would not allow Matra to continue production of this car for fear of serious competition to its own Alpine exotic car....The last of the high performance Murenas with 2.2 litre engines with special tuning were very formidable machines. Of all cars ever constructed, one notable landmark that the Murena can claim is that it was the first ever production vehicle to have it's frame immersed in a vat of molten zinc.....hot galvanization......which insures that the main body/frame section will survive longer than any contemporary cars from that era or beforehand........The Murena is a marvel of packaging from its three seat layout with the center seatback folding down when not in use to the enormous rear trunk to the easy access to its mechanical components to its rust free glassfibre/polyester body panels.........so advanced as such that General Motors copied the design of the body frame and removable panels when designing the Fiero sportscar.....In many respects the Murena could have been a true Supercar had it continued in production with ever increasing engine options....The handling, braking, roadholding are in the spirit of Lotus with a true go-cart effect.....couple that with excellent fuel economy of approx. 30mpg. The production of the Murena lasted only 4 years from 1980-1983........Only 10,000 of these rare beauties were ever made making it quite rare worldwide..........These cars have a huge following in Europe.......especially in Germany where several of the leading parts and repair specialists are located....Parts for these cars are not a problem with specialists in many countries.....and access to these parts is easy by way of the web............
This particular Murena is in very good condition considering the age of the car......now 28 years.........all lights and electrics work.....vacuum operated headlamps........brakes......recently fitted a new steering u-joint bought from German supplier.....engine runs very well and starts easy.....revs smoothly........car has a five speed trans.....the interior is in very nice shape considering much of it is cloth....the seats show some wear to the tan and white check pattern....but nothing major ripped.....just some material worn away.....the engine bay is very clean as well as the front compartment.....overall the car is in very nice shape......the body does have some cracks in various places from fender benders over the years and doors opened on the body......the only major damage to the body I could find is a large crack on the right rear fender that had been partially repaired and has a sport decal over it.......However...overall the paint is very nice.....
This Murena is the lower powered version being a 1.6 litre 4 cyl that was the fuel economy model.....car is still peppy and the handling is phenomenal and makes you believe you are traveling at twice the indicated speed.....the car only weighs 2000 lbs..........30MPG and Exotic.......I am selling this car due to other projects that are unfinished....I very much enjoy this car and whenever shown it draws major attention.........In Europe this car is referred to as the Affordable Ferrari.......yet is extremely rare and exotic in itself........the drag coefficient was the best when it was new....period........it is a car designed by a company that builds Rockets.........
Due to the rarity of the car in general......especially the rarity in the U.S.....not to mention the historical significance of the car's design and engineering I would say that this car would make a fine addition to a Museum collection when properly restored for such a presentation....or it could be modified to be one of the ultimate exotic resto-mods.....I even thought of a Dodge SRT engine with ecm upgrades........250 plus HP in a 2000lb car!!!!!!! Sounds like a Lotus Exige......OR HAVE THE ULTIMATE LIGHT EXOTIC ELECTRIC CAR........
Known problems with the car.......the large crack on the right rear fender....steering wheel is slightly off center....probably due to new u-joint installed......second gear syncro is noisy until trans warms up.....deliberate and not fast shifts at high revs usually eliminates or lessens problem with 2nd gear......other than that trans shifts fine......there is no stereo....however speakers are prewired.....Driver side door lock will lock but not unlock with key....passenger side fine....This particular car has some interesting custom Matra Racing features such as the Rally competition rear decklid and taillamp panel and lighting.....very special combination as used on the Factory Competition cars......
Thank you for taking the time to check out this auction....any questions....please email.......
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