1982 Talbot Matra Murena

The Matra Murena is an unusual mid-engine French sports car from the early 1980s, it features the wedge-shaped styling that was so in vogue in the 80’s due to cars such as the Fiat X/19, DMC Delorean and more notably the Countach.

Much like the sports cars being built by companies like Lotus and the fellow Frenchmen at Alpine, the Murena uses a steel chassis with a glass fibre body, all independent suspension, and there’s a Peugeot 4 cylinder engine in the back.

Matra was a fascinating company, they built everything from supersonic aircraft engines and air-to-air missiles, to race winning Formula 1 cars and a series of unusual sports cars for the road like the Murena you see here.

The project to build the Murena began in the late 1970s, Matra needed a replacement for the Bagheera model that addressed the ongoing issues with rust in the car’s steel chassis. An entirely new design was created that shared some styling influence with its forebear, and an all-new steel chassis was designed – this time it was fully hot-dip galvanized to effectively eliminate the scourge of corrosion.

Over the course of its production run just over 10,600 Matra Murenas were built, many have survived to the modern day thanks to their galvanized chassis and fiberglass bodies.

Delivered new in the UK in November 1982, this stunning Left-hand drive Matra Murena was optioned with the 1.6 litre. The current owner saw a couple of Matra when he was a kid and fell in love with the 3-seater concept.

In 1999, he decided to buy a Matra Murena for his son who lived in the UK and on his return to Australia a year later he had his son bring the car back with him.

During the next 20 years the owner decided to restore the car himself. The mechanical overhaul was carried out by David Collier, a well known and respected French car specialist.

The cockpit features three-wide bucket seating trimmed in a Beige houndstooth-esk material with brown carpets and a colour- coordinated dashboard and door panels.

Accompanying this Murena is an extensive portfolio of invoicing detailing all works completed across the last 20 years, from the interior trimming, engine and parts ordered from all over the word.

Hard to find in a such fantastic condition, this original Left-Hand drive and excellently well prepared Matra Murena Coupé is something quite special.