Matra Ford factory racer Jackie Stewart winner 1969 Dutch Grand Prix Zandvoort

Description

A superb and rare photo of the great
Jackie Stewart and
his amazing
Matra
during the
1969
edition of the
Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort which he won
.
Matra
was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. The name Matra became famous in the 1960s when it went into car production by buying Automobiles René Bonnet. Matra Automobiles produced racing cars and sports cars, and was very successful in racing. The Matra name was first used for road cars with the Renault-powered Matra Djet (pronounced "Jet"), which was an update of the Bonnet Jet. The Djet was replaced with the Matra 530, which was powered by a Ford Taunus V4 engine. Matra also developed a close partnership with Simca in the 1970s, producing Simca-engined sports cars such as the Bagheera, the Murena and the Rancho, an early type of SUV - albeit that it was two-wheel-drive - which was based on the Simca 1100 pick-up bodyshell. This car remained in production into the '80s, after Simca's takeover by Peugeot. In 1984 Renault launched the Matra built Espace minivan, a car conceived at Chrysler
UK
, and designed originally for Chrysler production in partnership with Matra. The car became a big success and, together with Mitsubishi Chariot and Plymouth Voyager, is credited with creating the entire market segment of modern minivans. After the failure of the Renault Avantime (designed and built by Matra), on
February 27, 2003
Matra announced its intention to close its automobile factory in Romorantin, with the factory closing a month later. In September 2003, Pininfarina SpA acquired Matra Automobile's engineering, testing and prototype businesses. The company was subsequently named Matra Automobile Engineering. On
January 13, 2009
, Pininfarina sold its share in Matra Automobile Engineering to Segula Technologies. Matra made some very interesting street models, notably the Matra Djet, also known as Matra Bonnet Djet and Matra Jet , the Matra 530 , the Matra Bagheera ; First and second series marketed as Matra Simca Bagheera, third series marketed as Talbot Matra Bagheera , the Matra Murena; Marketed as Talbot Matra Murena , the Matra Rancho; Marketed as Matra Simca Rancho (1977-1979) and Talbot Matra Rancho (1980-1984) , the Renault Espace and its successor the Renault Avantime. In the mid-1960s Matra enjoyed considerable success in Formula 3 and F2 racing with (especially) its MS5 monocoque-based car, winning the French and European championships. In 1967, Jacky Ickx famously amazed the F1 establishment by clocking in the 3rd-fastest qualifying time of 8:14" on the German Nürburgring in his 1600 cc MS5 F2, which was allowed to enter alongside the 3000 cc F1 cars. In the race, he failed to finish due to a broken suspension. Matra entered Formula One in 1968 when Jackie Stewart was a serious contender, winning several Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10 which competed alongside the works team. The F1 team was established at Vélizy-Villacoublay in the southwestern suburbs of
Paris
, France.The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around
15 kg
(
33 lb
) lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The
FIA
considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970. Matra CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère made a radical strategic decision for the 1969 championship: The Matra works team would not compete in Formula One. Matra would instead focus its efforts on the Tyrrell team (renamed Matra International) and build a new DFV powered car with structural fuel tanks, even though it would only be eligible for a single season. The decision was even more radical given that Matra was seeking a partnership with Simca, then a subsidiary of the American company Chrysler, which would preclude using Ford-branded engines for the following year. Stewart won the 1969 title easily with the new Cosworth-powered Matra MS80, which corrected most of the weaknesses of the MS10. Stewart's title was the first won by a French chassis, and the only one won by a chassis built in
France
. It was a spectacular achievement from a constructor that had only entered Formula One the previous year. Like Cosworth, Lotus and McLaren, Matra experimented with four wheel drive during the 1969 season. Johnny Servoz-Gavin became the one and only driver to score a point with a 4WD car, finishing sixth with the Matra MS84 at the Canadian Grand Prix. The MS84, along with Brabham's BT26A, was one of the last spaceframe cars to compete in Formula One. For 1970 following the agreement with Simca, Matra asked Tyrrell to use their V12 rather than the Cosworth. Stewart got to test the Matra V12, but since a large part of the Tyrrell budget was provided by Ford, and another significant sponsor was French state-owned petroleum company Elf, which had an agreement with Renault that precluded supporting a Simca partner, the partnership between Matra and Tyrrell ended. Matra V12 engines powered the Ligier Formula 1 team from 1976-78, and again from 1981-82.
This is a very nice and very rare
non period
photo that reflects a wonderful era of Matra automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
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