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Matra-Simca Bagheera - plastic flounder for the gang of three

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Created on September 13, 2017

Reading time 11min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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ADAC Motorwelt

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Archiv Zwischengas

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

44

Daniel Reinhard

38

ADAC Motorwelt

2

Archiv Zwischengas

1

Bruno von Rotz

1

Archiv

44

Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - 84 PS reichten damals für 187 km/h

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - vorgestellt 1973, produziert bis 1980

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - 1,74 Meter breit und 1,2 Meter flach

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - "Hasenfalle", nannte Herbert Völker den Wagen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - man sitzt flach im Bagheera, die Sicht nach vorne ist gut

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - relativ kleine Rückleuchten, dafür grosse Heckscheibe

Bild von Partner Porsche AMAG November Foto-Galerie 2025

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - ist auch ein Kurvenkünstler

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - brachte die Siebzigerjahre-Jungend zum Träumen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - erreichte über 185 km/h in zeitgenössischen Tests

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - nur wenige konnten ihn damals überholen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - mit cw 0.33 setzte er dem Wind wenig Widerstand entgegen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - nur rund vier lang

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Coupé-Schönheit aus Frankreich

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die Beplankung besteht aus Polyester-Elementen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - für einen Sportwagen verjüngt sich die Karosserie nach oben nur in geringem Masse

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - wurde nur linksgelenkt gebaut

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Maserati-Styling

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die Lampen öffnen mit Unterdruck

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - mit grosser Heckscheibe

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - relativ kleine Motorraumöffnung

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die Heckscheibe lässt sich öffnen und gibt Zugang zu Gepäck und Motor

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Fliessheck

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - drei Sitze nebeneinander

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - das Lenkrad besteht aus Kunststoff und ist unten abgeflacht

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - der Fahrersitz ist in Längsrichtung verstellbar, die Beifahrersitze sind fix montiert

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Einspeichen-Lenkrad, spezifisch für den Bagheera

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - erinnern an Instrumente im Flugzeugbau

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - ungewöhnliche Fensterkurbeln

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - zweifarbiger Innenraum

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - quer eingebauter Vierzylindermotor, bauähnlich zum 1308 GT

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - kein sportwagentypischer Motor - die Nockenwelle dreht seitlich

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - für Licht ist gesorgt

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - gelbe Zusatzscheinwerfer

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Tankdeckel in der C-Säule

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - aussenliegende Scharniere für die Heckklappe

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - immerhin mit Rückfahrleuchten

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - zierliche Rückleuchten

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - der Schriftzug auf dem Heck

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Axel Bier und sein Matra-Simca Bagheera auf der Titelseite der ADAC Motorwelt 5/1975

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Axel Biers Bagheera, abgestellt wegen zuvieler Mängel im Jahr 1974 - aus der ADAC Motorwelt 5/1975

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Matra Simca Bagheera (1974) - Werbung aus dem Jahre 1974 -

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1975) - Werbung "The Love Machine"

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1973) - attraktives Mittelmotor-Coupé mit drei Sitzen nebeneinander - Internationale Automobilausstellung (IAA) in Frankfurt 1973

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Matra-Simca Bagheera - im April 1973 erstmals gezeigtes Coupé mit Kunststoffkarosserie mit drei Sitzen in einer Reihe - am Genfer Automobilsalon 1974

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - nicht ganz ein Maserati, aber vom Design her nahe daran

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die drei Sitze erforderten etwas mehr Platz in der Breite

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - flach und breit, wie ein Sportwagen sein muss

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - mit der praktischen Heckklappe aus Glas

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Silhouette

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - unverkennbares Design

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Maserati-Styling und Grossserientechnik

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1975) - die ersten Exemplare hatten kleine Heckleuchten, die Serie 2 dann breitere und grössere

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Blick ins Innere des Mittelmotorsportwagens

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - das dreisitzige Interieur

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Matra-Simca Bagheera S (1976) - Lenkrad und Amaturenbrett der Serie 2

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - schon vor 40 Jahren, unten abgeflachtes Lenkrad

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Scheinwerfer und Emblem

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Scheinwerfer und Emblem

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Matra Bagheera S (1976) - 1,44 Liter Hubraum und mehr Leistung als S-Modell - Genfer Autosalon 1976

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die geringe Höhe verheisst eine gute Aerodynamik und überzeugende Fahrleistungen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - am Genfer Automobilsalon 1974 in Genf

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Matra-Simca Bagheera - erhielt am Salon den Style Auto Award - am Genfer Automobilsalon 1974

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Dimensionen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Blick in die Produktion

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - montierte Vorderachse

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - Blick auf den hinteren Teil des unfertigen Fahrzeugs

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - das gesamte Heckteil bestand aus einem Stück

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - die Fertigung der Karosserie

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1974) - fertig montierte Hinterachse

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1975) - die Motoren stehen bereit für den Einbau

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Matra-Simca Bagheera U8 (1973) - zusätzliche Kühlöffnungen in den Flanken und spezielle Felgen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera U8 (1973) - Vorderansicht mit dem eigens angefertigten Typenschild

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Matra-Simca Bagheera U8 (1973) - der U8-Motor mit acht Zylindern und zwei verbundenen Kurbelwellen

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Matra-Simca Bagheera (1977) - mit der Modellpflege wuchsen die Stossfänger und die (hinteren) Lampen

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Talbot-Matra Bagheera X (1980) - wurde auch gerne mit Rolldach bestellt - Inszenierung mit Flugzeugen

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Talbot-Matra Bagheera X (1980) - umfangreich augerüstetes Modell mit 1,4-Liter-Motor

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Talbot-Matra Bagheera (1979) - im Jahr 1976 gab es ein umfangreiches Facelift

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Matra-Simca Bagheera S (1976) - verbesserte und stärkere Version

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Matra Bagheera (1976) - Blick unter die Haut

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Matra-Simca Bagheera S (1976) - Schnittzeichnung des Sportwagens im zweiten Aufguss - Frontansicht

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Matra-Simca Bagheera S (1976) - Schnittzeichnung des Sportwagens im zweiten Aufguss

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Matra-Simca Bagheera S (1976) - Skizze der Klimatisierung

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Matra-Simca Bagheera U8 (1973) - Funktionsweise des Motors (Skizze)

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Matra-Simca Bagheera - erhielt einst die goldene Zitrone, hier am OSMT Juli 2011

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Talbot Matra Murena (1981) - elegantes Coupé

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Talbot Matra Murena (1980) - die Front läuft sehr spitz zu

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Summary

In the mid-seventies, hardly any car in its price range offered more overtaking prestige. The Matra-Simca Bagheera looked almost like a Maserati, offered space for three people and had the budget and maintenance-friendly technology of the Simca 1100 on board. It wasn't expensive either, and success was almost guaranteed. However, there were also problems, such as the "Silver Lemon", which the car was awarded by the ADAC due to its unreliability. Today, well-preserved Bagheera are rare, making a test drive with the 1.3-liter flounder all the more exciting. This vehicle report tells the story of the Bagheera, which was produced for over seven years, and shows it in current and historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

A new beginning
Enthusiastically received
Much tested
The thing with the silver lemon
More power and more luxury
The Super Bagheera that wasn't meant to be
Many years later
Further information about the car

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Actually, we would have liked to have photographed the Matra-Simca Bagheera painted silver or, even better, yellow. After all, the mid-engined sports car was ingloriously awarded the ADAC's "Silver Lemon" in May 1975. This was due to a 1.55-metre-long list of defects in which an early owner documented the car, which was actually still in mint condition, with all its faults. But our photo car is gold-colored, a good omen? After all, everything had started so well back then! The idea for a new mid-engined sports car began to mature as early as December 1969. At that time, a cooperation agreement was signed between Chrysler France, which had taken over Simca's business, and Matra. This sealed the end of the Matra 530, which, as is well known, had the Ford V4 in front of the rear axle. A successor was needed and it had to sell 10,000 units per year. To achieve this, practicality, suitability for everyday use, sportiness and dream car styling had to be reconciled - no easy task.

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