Matra MS84
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Jackie Stewart pictured with the MS84 at the Nürburgring | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Matra | ||||||||
| Designer(s) |
Gerard Ducarouge Bernard Boyer | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Matra MS80 | ||||||||
| Successor | Matra MS120 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Aluminium monocoque | ||||||||
| Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) V8 NA mid-engined | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland DG300 5 speed | ||||||||
| Fuel | Elf | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Matra International | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |
 Johnny Servoz-Gavin Jean-Pierre Beltoise | ||||||||
| Debut | 1969 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
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n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. | |||||||||
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The Matra MS84 was the fifth Formula One car produced by Matra (following the MS9, MS10, MS11 and MS80). The Ford Cosworth DFV-powered car (engine 3000 cc, estimated at around 420 bhp (313 kW))
The car was built at Matra's Formula One base at Vélizy-Villacoublay in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, designed under the direction of Gérard Ducarouge and Bernard Boyer. Although officially a Matra, it was run by the non-works Matra International team of Ken Tyrrell.
Matra based their 4WD car on the MS80 with which they won the 1969 Constructors' Championship, and from the rear of the cockpit forward the cars looked virtually identical, save for the driveshaft to the front wheels. At the back the engine was mounted back-to-front with the gearbox directly behind the driver, but tellingly the Ferguson transmission and other necessary additions left the car 10% heavier than the two-wheel drive sister cars. Like the Lotus 63, the MS84 made its first appearance at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Jackie Stewart tried the car out but opted to use his MS80, as he would for the rest of the season.
The car was still present at all the remaining races as a spare, and at Silverstone Jean-Pierre Beltoise gave the car its first race and came home ninth, six laps behind Stewart's two-wheel drive Matra (but three laps ahead of John Miles's Lotus 63). By the next time the car raced, the front differential had been disconnected and the car effectively ran as an over-weight MS80 with inboard front brakes, memorably giving the lie to Johnny Servoz-Gavin's protestations about the 4WD car being "undriveable" after he finished the Canadian Grand Prix six laps down in sixth place. Servoz-Gavin also drove the car at Watkins Glen, finishing 16 laps down and unclassified, and finally in Mexico, crossing the line "just" two laps down in eighth place. The MS84 was replaced by the Matra MS120.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engines | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Matra International | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 |
D | RSA | ESP | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | 661 | 1st | |
| Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Servoz-Gavin | DNA | 6 | NC | 8 | |||||||||||||
^1 Includes 9 points scored using a Matra MS10 and 57 points scored using a Matra MS80.
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