Matra (Mechanique-Aviation-TRAction) was formed in 1942 and after the war’s end grew into one of France’s foremost aerospace companies.

In 1965, Matra took over the manufacture of René Bonnet’s Renault-powered sports cars and only two years later produced its first wholly in-house design – the avante garde M530.

Designed by Philippe Guedon and Jean-Luc Lagardère, and quirkily styled in typically French fashion, the aerodynamically efficient M530 was powered by a mid-mounted 1.7-litre Ford V4 engine driving the rear wheels.

The chassis was of steel construction with bolted-on glassfibre body panels, while there was independent suspension all round and disc brakes on all four wheels.

The compact nature of the V4 engine meant that there was room within the cabin for ‘2+2’ seating and space for a luggage compartment ahead of the rear wheels in addition to that at the front.

In 1969 Matra was acquired by Chrysler France and shortly thereafter the M530 became the Matra-Simca M530LX.

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