In the 70s of the last century, the French company Matra, which specialized in the production of military and aviation equipment, decided to develop and create a car. As a result, in 1977, the public was presented a unique at that time wagon with front-wheel drive, spacious interior and the ability to fold the rear seats, which allowed to increase the useful volume of the body more than twice.

Off-road and beyond

Engineers and designers, who were instructed to develop a civil model of the car, performed the task set before them. Despite the military-space profile of the manufacturer, Matra SIMCA Rancho came out with a rather presentable and cute body design. Landing of the car, some technical characteristics, exterior clearly indicate the belonging of this model to the class of "cross-country". This is also evidenced by the body, made of durable materials, high-quality and effective optics, a variety of suspension protection, excellent wheelbase, reinforced bumpers and strong grilles on the "nose" of the car, reliable protection of the engine tray, practical roof rack. If this model appeared today, it would occupy a worthy place in the line of crossovers, which appeared only in the early 2000s. Therefore, it is not surprising that immediately after the release of Matra SIMCA Rancho has become incredibly popular among people leading an active lifestyle, tourists and travelers, young and romantic natures.

80 "horses" under the hood

The manufacturing company did not save on its creation, but it was not going to make Matra SIMCA Rancho something everyday and everyday. The five-seater wagon has been equipped with three doors, folding seats in the back row, which was described as very comfortable even for long journeys. In 1981 Matra SIMCA Rancho with open top went on sale for more extravagant drivers.

Matra SIMCA Rancho was equipped with a four-cylinder in-line power unit of transverse arrangement and a four-speed manual transmission. The engine capacity was 1442 cm3, which allowed to keep under the hood 80 HP Maximum speed was 150 km / h, which for off-road vehicles of the 1980s was an impressive characteristic of high dynamic abilities.

Missed opportunity

Despite the popularity in due time and high demand, Simca was forced to sell part of its shares to the giant of the automotive industry, Chrysler. The process took place in three stages: first 15% was bought out, then for Chrysler reached 63%, and later 99% of the shares were transferred to American magnates.

Matra SIMCA Rancho was very popular among motorists of that time. This brand predicted a great future and continued popularity, but the owners of the company did not fully understand that they have made a real breakthrough in the automotive industry. The wrong policy of the leadership has led to the fact that after Chrysler SIMCA were sold to PSA Peugeot Citroen. And he, in turn, changed the name of the entire line, and then after a few not quite successful restyling and completely stopped the production of the car. In total, under the brand name Matra SIMCA Rancho was released about 60 000 cars. Some of them still" hit the road " on the roads of Africa and Asia.

The birth of the minivan

The successor to the Matra SIMCA Rancho it is possible to consider the Renault Espace. Matra wanted to replace the Ranch with a new model-Espace prototype, made, like its predecessor, in orange tones. Peugeot group considered the project too expensive and not promising. Showing perseverance and determination to bring the concept to the production stage, the developers of Matra knocked on the door of Renault, and they quickly adopted the project, releasing in 1984 the first European minivan.