The Matra Bagheera is a sports car built by the automotive division of the French engineering group Matra from 1973 to 1980, in cooperation with automaker Simca. It was marketed as the Matra-Simca Bagheera until its final year of production, when its designation was changed to the Talbot-Matra Bagheera following Chrysler Europe's demise and subsequent takeover by PSA.

Rather than being sold under its development code name, the car took its name from the character in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

Although the engine, gearbox and many suspension elements came directly from the Simca 1100, this new Matra was to be a mid-engined car rather than front-wheel drive like the donor car.

The initial shape of the car was drawn by Jean Toprieux and later refined by Jacques Nochet. Greek designer Antonis Volanis joined the project and contributed to the interior, handling the instrument panel and steering wheel shapes.

The body's shape was that of a sleek hatchback with hidden headlights. The rear hatch opened to access the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment and a rear luggage space. The unusual three-abreast seating dictated by Guédon was implemented as a 2+1 arrangement. The driver had a regular seat while on the passenger side was a single two-place bench with two individual seatbacks inspired by a lounge chair Guédon had found in a Paris shop.

The 19 panels that made up the Bagheera's body were made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester, which were then attached to the chassis. 

The only engine offered at first was the 1294 cc "Poissy engine" from Simca's 1100 Ti model. In the Bagheera this ohv straight-4 engine developed 84 hp at 6000 rpm, two more horsepower than in the 1100 Ti. The transversely mounted engine was paired with the 4-speed manual transaxle from the 1100.

In 1976 a larger version of the same engine became available when the 1442 cc engine from the Simca 1308 GT was added to the lineup. The first Bagheera to use this engine was the newly introduced `S' version. Changes were also made to the carburation. A 4-speed manual was still the only transmission offered.

The Bagheera won the ADAC Silberne Zitrone ("Silver Lemon") award in 1975 for the poorest quality car at the time. Complaints ranged from a leaky body that allowed rain to enter the cabin to mechanical failures. Few Bagheeras survive today, and the cause is usually extensive corrosion of the steel chassis. While the polyester body panels do not rust, the problem was caused by the underlying steel chassis having almost no corrosion protection. Matra learned from this and fully galvanized the chassis of the Bagheera's successor, the Matra Murena.

The Matra Rancho is a leisure activity vehicle created by the French engineering group Matra, in cooperation with the automaker Simca, to capitalize on the off-road trend started by the Range Rover. The Rancho provided an "off-road look" at a lower price.

The Rancho was launched in 1977, and became a popular model, but this did not alleviate larger problems at Chrysler Europe (Simca's parent company). Chrysler finally sold its European arm to PSA in 1978, which was then rebranded as Talbot in 1979. The Matra-Simca Rancho became the Talbot Matra Rancho and production continued until 1984 (although it remained on sale up to January 1985), reaching 57.792 cars in total.

Designed by Antonis Volanis, the Rancho was based on the pick-up version of Simca's popular supermini, the Simca 1100, using its front structure and a stretched chassis. The rest of the body was made by Matra from fibreglass and polyester, including the mouldings adorning the body, which made it look more "sturdy". This technology would later be used on the Renault Espace, Europe's first MPV, which was manufactured by Matra.

Other elements retained from the 1100 included the dashboard and front seats (identical to the ones found in the Simca 1100 GLS). The Rancho was powered by the 1442 cc, 80 hp version of the "Poissy" straight-four engine.

During its life, the Rancho was offered in several versions. Apart from the basic Rancho, there was the Grand Raid, fitted with such off-road extras as an electric winch on the front bumper and an extra spare wheel mounted on the roof - as well as a limited-slip differential. It also received undercarriage protection, bronze tinted windows, and was only available in a matte green colour. 

The Rancho X was the upscale model, with additional standard items such as alloy wheels and metallic paint. The Découvrable model's rear cabin consisted of an open frame with roll-down fabric covers, which could serve as an "open" car during good weather. Finally, the Rancho AS was the commercial version, with no rear seat, making it exempt from the French tax on passenger cars.

The Matra Murena is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car that was produced from 1980 through 1983 by the French engineering group Matra. The factory was located in the commune of Romorantin-Lanthenay in the department of Loir-et-Cher in central France.

The Murena, whose name is Italian for "Moray", was the successor to the Matra Bagheera, a similar vehicle that resulted from an earlier collaboration between Matra and Simca.

The Murena drew heavily from the corporate parts bin, using engines from the Talbot Solara and Talbot Tagora, a transaxle developed by Citroën for their Citroën CX and also used in some Lancia Beta models, Talbot Horizon taillamp clusters fitted with custom lenses, steering rack and front suspension from the Talbot Solara, front indicator and running lights from the Renault 12, and door handles from the Peugeot 505.

Like the chassis, the styling for the Murena was all-new. The final shape was very aerodynamic for the time, with a reported drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.328. The rear hatch opened to provide access to the engine mounted behind the passenger compartment and a rear luggage area. A signature feature carried over from the previous model was the seating arrangement - all three seats were placed in one row, with the middle seat folding down to become an armrest when not in use by a passenger. In the Murena the three seats were separate, in contrast to the 2+1 arrangement in the Bagheera.

Two engines were offered. The base model had a 1.6-litre Poissy engine, while the more powerful version came with a 2.2-litre Type 180. The 2.2-litre engine could also be ordered with a performance package called the "Préparation 142" option that raised the power output from 118 PS to 142 PS. This kit was initially a dealer-installed option, but the last 480 Murenas came with this uprated engine directly from the factory. This version was called the Murena S. The standard 2.2-litre engine used a single Solex down-draught carburetor, but S models had twin side-draught Solex carburetors.

The Murena received a 5-speed manual transaxle derived from that of the Citroën CX (or depending on the model year the Lancia Beta). Different models of Murena used different final-drive ratios but all Murenas used the same transaxle.

Production of the 1981 model-year Murena 1.6 began in November 1980, followed a few months later by the 2.2. Production of the Matra Murena ended in July 1983, when the Matra factory switched over to building the first generation of Renault Espace minivan.

• Murena 1.6: 5640 units.
• Murena 2.2: 4560 units.
• Murena S: 480 units.
• Total production: 10.680 units.