Matra Sports V12 engine explained

Matra Sports V12 engine
Manufacturer:	Matra
Designer:	Georges Martin
Production:	1968–1982
Displacement:	2993 cc
Bore:	79.7 mm
Stroke:	50 mm
Compression:	11:1
Power:	at 11,000 rpm
Torque:	at 8,000 rpm

The Matra Sports V12 engine is a family of automotive internal combustion engines built for Formula One and sports car endurance racing. Versions of the engine won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times.

History

The Matra Sport V12 was designed by engineer Georges Martin, who had earlier designed Simca's Poissy engine. Martin joined Matra at the end of 1966 through the efforts of Philippe Guédon, a former colleague of his at Simca who later became CEO of Matra. Martin was unsure of what he would be working on until Jean-Luc Lagardère, Matra's CEO at the time, explained that Martin would be designing a new Formula One engine with a specific output target of 150 horsepower per litre.

Features

The Matra Sports V12 is a four-stroke, water-cooled all-aluminum 60° double overhead camshaft V12 engine with a seven-main-bearing crankshaft. It produced between NaN0NaN0, and NaN0NaN0 of torque.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrants	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Points	WCC
	Matra Sports	Matra MS11	Matra V12			RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX						8	9th
					Jean-Pierre Beltoise			Ret	8	2	9	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	Ret
					Henri Pescarolo										Ret	DNS	9
	Equipe Matra Elf	Matra MS120	Matra V12			RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX					23	6th
					Jean-Pierre Beltoise	4	Ret	Ret	3	5	13	Ret	Ret	6	3	8	Ret	5
					Henri Pescarolo	7	Ret	3	6	8	5	Ret	6	14	Ret	7	8	9
	Equipe Matra Sports	Matra MS120B	Matra V12			RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA							9	7th
					Chris Amon	5	3	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	Ret		6	10	12
					Jean-Pierre Beltoise		6	Ret	9	7	7				Ret	8
	Equipe Matra Sports	Matra MS120C Matra MS120D	Matra V12			ARG	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA						12	8th
					Chris Amon	Ret	15	Ret	6	6	3	4	15	5	Ret	6	15
	UOP Shadow Racing	Shadow DN7	Matra V12			ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA				0	NC
					Jean-Pierre Jarier												Ret	Ret
	Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS5	Matra V12			BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	JPN		20	6th
					Jacques Laffite	Ret	Ret	4	12	3	12	4	14	DSQ	Ret	2	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	7
	Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS7	Matra V12			ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN	18	8th
					Jacques Laffite	NC	Ret	Ret	9	7	7	Ret	1	8	6	Ret	Ret	2	8	7	Ret	5
					Jean-Pierre Jarier																	Ret
	Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS7 Ligier JS7/9 Ligier JS9	Matra V12			ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	MON	BEL	ESP	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN		19	6th
					Jacques Laffite	16	9	5	5	Ret	5	3	7	7	10	3	5	8	4	11	Ret
	Equipe Talbot Gitanes	Ligier JS17	Matra V12			USW	BRA	ARG	SMR	BEL	MON	ESP	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	CPL			44	4th
					Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ret	7
					Jean-Pierre Jabouille			DNQ	NC	Ret	DNQ	Ret
					Patrick Tambay								Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
					Jacques Laffite	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	2	3	2	Ret	3	3	1	Ret	Ret	1	6
	Equipe Talbot Gitanes	Ligier JS17 Ligier JS17B Ligier JS19	Matra V12			RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED	GBR	FRA	GER	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL		20	8th
					Eddie Cheever	Ret	Ret	Ret		3	Ret	2	10	DNQ	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	3
					Jacques Laffite	Ret	Ret	Ret		9	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	Ret

World Sportscar Championship results

The table below summarizes the results obtained by Matra's World Sportscar Championship cars fitted with the Matra Sports V12:

Year

Event

Team

Car

Engine

Power at rpm

Driver

Position

1968

24 Hours of Le Mans

Matra Sports

Matra MS630

MS9

390 at 10,500

Henri Pescarolo

2 (withdrawn)

1972

24 Hours of Le Mans

Equipe Matra-Simca Shell

Matra MS670

MS12

435 at 11,000

Pescarolo-Hill

1

1972

24 Hours of Le Mans

Equipe Matra-Simca Shell

Matra MS670

MS12

435 at 11,000

Cevert-Ganley

2

1973

6 Hours of Vallelunga^1

Equipe Matra-Simca

Matra MS670B

MS12

450 at 10,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1973

1000 km of Digione^1

Equipe Matra-Simca

Matra MS670B

MS12

450 at 10,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1973

1000 km of Zeltweg^1

Equipe Matra-Simca

Matra MS670B

MS12

450 at 10,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1973

6 Hours of Watkins Glen^1

Equipe Matra-Simca

Matra MS670B

MS12

450 at 10,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1974

1000 km of Spa^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Jarier-Ickx

1

1974

1000 km of Nürburgring^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Jarier-Beltoise

1

1974

1000 km of Imola^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670B/C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1974

24 Hours of Le Mans^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670B

MS12/73

450 at 10,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1974

1000 km of Zeltweg^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670B/C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

1974

6 Hours of Watkins Glen^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Jarier-Beltoise

1

1974

1000 km of Le Castellet^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Jarier-Beltoise

1

1974

1000 km of Brands Hatch^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Jarier-Beltoise

1

1974

6 Hours of Kyalami^2

Equipe Gitanes

Matra MS670B/C

MS12/73

490 at 11,500

Pescarolo-Larrousse

1

Note: ^1Valid for the 1973 Sports Prototype Championship, at the end of which Matra will be the overall winner ^2Valid for the 1974 Sports Prototype Championship, at the end of which Matra will be the overall winner

Further reading

• Book: McDonough, Ed . 15 May 2010 . Matra Sports Cars: MS620, 630, 650, 660 & 670 — 1966 to 1974 . Veloce Publishing Ltd. . 978-1845842611 .