Matra Murena

Eric Bailly, Matra Murena on the 2017 Rallye du Pays Avallonnais.

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Matra, Romorantin, France.  Sometimes called the Talbot-Matra Murena, this was an early eighties mid-engined sports car that was relatively unusual in that it had three seats next to each other with the middle one folding when not in use to become an arm rest.  It had a steel chassis and glass fibre coupé body.  Just under 11,000 were built between 1980 and 1983.  The car had good handling but the engines were not that impressive.  The basic model had a 1.6 litre Simca engine and the more powerful version a 2.2 litre Talbot engine.  The 1.6 litre had a top speed of around 113mph and a 0-60mph time of just over 11 seconds.  The 2.2 litre had a top speed of 122mph and a 0-60moh time of just under 9 seconds. They were rallied in 1981 and 1982 in major rallies such as the RAC and Monte Carlo but without great success.  Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Max Mamers drove 4WD versions of them them in the 1982 French rallycross championship, both achieving wins and Max taking the Championship. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud drove one in a European rallycross championship round the same year scoring a class win.  These cars continued their successful rallycross careers for some years.

EMKA-Aston Martin C83/1

Richard Hope, EMKA-Aston Martin C83/1, Le Mans Classic 2016 Group C racing.

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EMKA, Godalming, UK.  EMKA was the initials of Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke's daughters. He invested in this Group C racer in partnership with Michael Cane who managed the program and assembled the car.  The body was a very aerodynamic design by Len Bailey.  The chassis was an aluminium monocoque but the innovative part that Len Bailey did was redesigning all of the engine accessories so that the bulky Tickford tuned Aston Martin V8 could fit into this small package.  In May 1983 it made its debut at Silverstone and qualified 17th but failed to finish.  At Le Mans it finished 17th driven by Tiff Needell, Steve O'Rourke and Nick Faure but was hampered by lack of top speed and many reliability issues.    The EMKA did not run in 1984 due to lack of funds but reappeared in 1985 as the C84/1 at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Spa and Le Mans.  It retired in all of these except Le Mans. There with the same driving team as before but with aerodynamic changes it went much better, achieving 216mph on the straight and finishing 11th ahead of the Group 44 Jaguar and the Tom's-Toyota.  With more funding this could have been a good car.