Matra MS640
The Matra MS640 is a sports prototype race car, designed, developed, and built by the French manufacturer Matra in 1969. Two examples of this car were made: the original one from 1969 and the rebuild from 2005. Development Featuring a tubular trellis frame not very different from that of the MS650, the Matra MS640 coupe featured a drop-shaped bodywork designed by Robert Choulet, an aerodynamic engineer with previous experiences at Deutsch & Bonnet who was inspired by to his other creations. It had shapes that made it look like a record car, extremely elongated, with a very small cockpit covered by an equally small bubble roof, rounded wheel arches (which partially covered the wheels at the rear), and stabilizing fins on the tail. The power unit was the 420 Matra MS9 V12 3-liter, built-in 1968 on the initiative of the French government and already mounted on the Matra MS630. History and background After the creation of the MS630 for the 1968 season in accordance with the new regulations (prototypes with 3-liter displacement, sports cars with 5-liter displacement, and 50 units), a car that had performed well at the 24 Hours of Le Mans of that year holding the second place for a long time and giving it up towards the end of the race due to two punctures and a fatal short circuit, the director of Matra Jean Luc Lagardère entrusted Robert Choulet with the task of designing a closed car, extremely aerodynamic and designed specifically for the circuit of the Sarthe, in order to compensate for the power gap suffered against the Porsche 917, Ferrari 312P and Alfa Romeo 33/3 and the higher consumption compared to the Porsche 908. The resulting car tickled the imagination and expectations of Lagardère, the press, and all of France, who could finally cultivate the dream of a "voiture bleu" on the top step of the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the collective tests of Le Mans, which were held in March, the new Matra 640 was not yet ready and the French manufacturer only fielded an MS630, recovering in April the work lost on that occasion: it organized a private test session with all the Circuit de la Sarthe for itself, away from prying eyes who could study the new weapon. The car was entrusted to Henri Pescarolo and Johnny Servoz-Gavin, who had to develop the car on a real circuit, as it only had a few kilometers traveled on the runway of Marigny airport on its shoulders, on the occasion of the presentation to the press. Pescarolo was the first to leave, instructed by the sporting director Georges Martin and by designer Choulet to gradually push the car towards the limit. The first laps had to be done in a “neutral” aerodynamic configuration, to then make the further trim and aerodynamic adjustments. Pescarolo immediately had the impression of a “light” steering and when he entered the Hunaudières straight he pushed the car up to . Overcome a bump,