SIMCA MATRA BAGHEERA

Description for Other Makes BAGHEERA 1974

The Matra Bagheera is a sports car created by the French engineering group Matra in cooperation with the automaker Simcaand design by Greek designer Antonis Volanis. It was marketed as Matra-Simca Bagheera to highlight the link. except for the final production year 1980. when it was re-badged Talbot-Matra Bagheera after Chrysler Europe's demise and subsequent takeover by PSA. Named after the panther from The Jungle Book. the Bagheera was created using stock Simca components. including the engines. gearbox and suspension elements. but unlike the Simca cars it shared them with. it was a mid-engined car (the Simcas in question. nbsp;Simca 1100 and Simca 1307. were front-wheel drive). [3]The Bagheera's body was made of polyester. mounted on a steel structure. It was formed in the shape of a sleek hatchback. with a rear hatch that allowed access to the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment. There was only one row of seats. but it featured an unusual combination of three abreast. The Bagheera remains one of the few three-passenger sports cars. [3]When launched in 1973. the Bagheera was only available with the 1. 3 L straight-4 engine. belonging to Simca's "Poissy engine". In 1975. the range was complemented by a 1. 5 L version of the same engine. In 1976. the Bagheera underwent a major restyling. with basically only the rear hatch unchanged (Bagheera type II). Another change took place in 1978. when the dashboard was replaced again. and in 1979 the Bagheera was given conventional door handles in lieu of the previous "hidden" ones (Bagheera type III). Since PSA took control of Simca in the previous year (after the demise of Chrysler Europe). all Simcas were re-badged Talbot and Matra-Simca became Talbot-Matra. Early in 1974 the German Magazine Auto. Motor und Sport tested a 1294 cc Bagheera. comparing it with obvious competitors in the process. [2] The car's light-weight body served it well in the performance comparisons: a top speed of 186. 5 km/h (116 mph) was recorded as against 176. 5 km/h (110 mph) for the Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior. despite the Alfa Romeo's claim of an extra 3 bhp. [2] The French car also beat the Milanese on acceleration. taking 12. 2 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) as against the Alfa's 13. 5 seconds. [2] The Matra-Simca's DM 14. 98 price tag was usefully lower than the DM 14. 90 listed for the Alfa Romeo. though both were undercut on price by models from mass market producers such as the 1900 cc Opel Manta SR at DM 13. 90THE CAR IS IN SPAIN. READY FOR SHIPMENT. SHIPPING COST TO EAST COAST $ 2. 00. ASK OTHER PORTS