The Bagheera had always been designed to fulfill the role of inexpensive and practical sports coupe, and thanks to its all-round efficiency, it managed to achieve a great deal despite its small engine. Perhaps that is the Bagheera's appeal: it proved that less is more. It looked like a Lamborghini Uracco, yet used as little fuel as a Renault 5. What more could one ask for?
Matra thought it needed more power - and there were many owners that agreed. However, the larger engined Bagheera never materialized and the company's imaginative engineers had to make to with the fascinating U8 prototype. Like all Matras, it was very, very interesting.
Essentially, the U8's powerunit was created by joining two four-cylinder power units side-by-side, each bank using its own crankshaft. The drive was then joined via a common chain at the gearbox. As it was basically two 1100TI power units, you could double its vital statistics to arrive at the U8 specifications: 8-cylinders, 2.58 litres, maximum power: 168bhp at 6200rpm.
Unfortunately, the oil crisis and budget constraints put paid to the project before it really got off the ground. The Bagheera U8 remains a motorshow one-off, killed by its voracious fuel consumption and Chrysler's lack of development funds...
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