In America, in the early days of the space program, the expected astronaut car was a Corvette. Six out of the seven original Mercury astronauts drove Corvettes! The lone holdout was John Glenn, who drove, of all things, an NSU Prinz. On the other side of the Iron Curtain, we know of at least one good sports car analogue to the Corvette: the Matra Djet. The first man in space, seen above and colorized up there, drove one of these, and they’re really incredible little cars. Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut we’re talking about, was given his Djet by the government of France in 1965. So let’s talk a bit about Matra Djets.
First, they are named after a jet, it’s just that in France no one can pronounce a “J” unless you give them a “D” to get the process started with, so it’s Djet, which honestly just makes it look even cooler. The car was designed by René Bonnet and built by that firm from 1962 to 1964, using the 1100cc/65 horsepower (some say 72?) engine from a Renault 8. When Bonnet got in financial trouble, Matra, who had already been building much of the car for Bonnet, took over, made some slight modifications and built the car in various versions from 1965 to 1967, including one with a 1255cc engine from the Renault 8 Gordini that made a screaming 105 hp. Those may sound like small numbers today, but these cars were quick for the era!
They were also mid-engined, set up like an actual racing car, as Matra liked to show in their brochures:
I always like when carmakers do that superimposition of a racing car into their street cars, it’s just fun. The Djet is one of those cars that is full of fantastic little details and has a peculiar sleekness with just a touch of awkwardness that somehow just makes the whole package that much more appealing. Maybe it’s the Frenchness. In the case of the Djet, I think it’s the high ride height and skinny tires that really add to the odd and appealing character.
Oh, also, these had a removable roof panel, but if you actually removed it and drove around, the airflow going into the roof was enough that it could pop out the rear window glass! So, how did Matra solve this problem? Did they re-engineer the aerodynamics of the car? Did they add some sort of ventilation system to reduce the air pressure? Nope!
They just included some little standoffs so when you had the roof off, you couldn’t close the hatch all the way, giving the air a convenient out. That’s it! Good enough, right? I love it. I actually got to drive a Djet once, and I show the hatch standoffs in this video, if you’re curious:
Ah the charm of the Djet! I’m smitten! Smitten, I tell you!
Isn’t this considered the first production mid-engine car of the modern era?
Isn’t this considered the first production mid-engine car of the modern era?
Magic. I never knew about this car, I guess the model after is where my Matra knowledge begins. “….with just a touch of awkwardness that somehow just makes the whole package that much more appealing. ” To me this is the magic of great design.
Magic. I never knew about this car, I guess the model after is where my Matra knowledge begins. “….with just a touch of awkwardness that somehow just makes the whole package that much more appealing. ” To me this is the magic of great design.
I always thought the Melkus RS 1000 was the Soviet Corvette…
I always thought the Melkus RS 1000 was the Soviet Corvette…
In the end it’s a mid-Djet…due to being mid engined.
I know the way out.
In the end it’s a mid-Djet…due to being mid engined.
I know the way out.
John Glenn had the NSU Prinz and also owned a 1964 Corvair Convertible.
Glenn’s ’64 Corvair has been lovingly restored and it is a beautiful shade of pale green.
think you meant pale grenn
The second N is Glenn is silent.
– Glenn
The corvair influenced NSU design, among others including BMW.
John Glenn had the NSU Prinz and also owned a 1964 Corvair Convertible.
Glenn’s ’64 Corvair has been lovingly restored and it is a beautiful shade of pale green.
think you meant pale grenn
The second N is Glenn is silent.
– Glenn
The corvair influenced NSU design, among others including BMW.
I’ve only seen one of these IRL. The shots with Gagarin make them seem larger than they were since he was only 5’2″ tall. Super cool.
You would only be 5’2″ is you had cajones the same size as his weighing you down. I don’t think I’d trust a Moskvitch for a trip though a car wash, this guy trusted Cold War Soviet tech to take him to space and back…
Not sure trust entered into a lot of decisions made in Soviet Russia (or contemporary Russia, for that matter).
This was the Verify Stage
I’ve only seen one of these IRL. The shots with Gagarin make them seem larger than they were since he was only 5’2″ tall. Super cool.
You would only be 5’2″ is you had cajones the same size as his weighing you down. I don’t think I’d trust a Moskvitch for a trip though a car wash, this guy trusted Cold War Soviet tech to take him to space and back…
Not sure trust entered into a lot of decisions made in Soviet Russia (or contemporary Russia, for that matter).
This was the Verify Stage
Man, I’m smitten too. Never knew that existed. Thanks DJason!
Man, I’m smitten too. Never knew that existed. Thanks DJason!
*snicker*
*snicker*
In my fantasy reconstruction of postwar Europe (which admittedly isn’t that extensive and really only exists for the purposes of this comment) in which Stalin doesn’t get everything he wants at Yalta and Czechoslovakia, the only stable democracy east of Switzerland in the interwar period, becomes neutral like Austria but without the conveniently ignored Nazi past, Matra’s automotive arm becomes a performance partner and tuner not of Renault but of the manufacturer of some of Central Europe’s (and not just Central Europe’s, Vacláv) most advanced cars. Behold, the rear-engined performance and luxury icons of the Matra-Tatras!
In my fantasy reconstruction of postwar Europe (which admittedly isn’t that extensive and really only exists for the purposes of this comment) in which Stalin doesn’t get everything he wants at Yalta and Czechoslovakia, the only stable democracy east of Switzerland in the interwar period, becomes neutral like Austria but without the conveniently ignored Nazi past, Matra’s automotive arm becomes a performance partner and tuner not of Renault but of the manufacturer of some of Central Europe’s (and not just Central Europe’s, Vacláv) most advanced cars. Behold, the rear-engined performance and luxury icons of the Matra-Tatras!
Bic makes a disposable lighter called a Djeep, and now I know why.
Bic makes a disposable lighter called a Djeep, and now I know why.
C5 & C6 Corvettes were notorious for wind buffeting with the top off as well – so much so that a few aftermarket companies developed…rear hatch stand offs.
C5 & C6 Corvettes were notorious for wind buffeting with the top off as well – so much so that a few aftermarket companies developed…rear hatch stand offs.
We have Corvettes at home.
We have Corvettes at home.
I think those rear hatch props are a brilliant but janky solution considering that flow-through ventilation may be a no-brainer to us now but it wouldn’t even exist for another few years.
It calls to mind the GM pickup bumper side steps, a simple and elegant quick fix when the true solution – build the whole truck a foot lower in the first place – is something Marketing would raise holy hell about.