The Matra Sports V12 engine is a family of automotive internal combustion engines built for Formula One (F1) and sports car endurance racing. Cars powered by versions of the engine won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and gave Matra the World Championship for Makes title in 1973 and 1974. The Matra Sports V12 is also remembered for its distinctive sound.

History Starting with the 1966 season, F1's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), raised the displacement limit for naturally aspirated cars to 3.0-litres.

Georges Martin was a French engineer who joined Matra at the end of 1966 at the invitation of Philippe Guédon, a former colleague of his at Simca. Jean-Luc Lagardère, Matra's CEO, informed Martin that his first project would be to design an engine for the new F1 rules with a specific output target of 150 horsepower per litre. Lagardère had already determined that the new engine would be a V12.

Work on the Matra Sports V12 began in 1967. The project was underwritten by a loan of six million francs from the French government (approximately US$1,200,000), and, after Lagardère met with Jean Prada, head what became the French oil company Elf Aquitaine in April of 1967, an additional two million francs (US$400,000).

Development took place in Matra's base in Vélizy-Villacoublay. Leading the effort were Martin and his colleague Georges Chariatte. René Fortin was responsible for testing and development.

Martin quietly negotiated an agreement with British Racing Motors (BRM) for the British firm to design a considerable portion of the engine, including the camshafts, cam drives, and tappets, among other items, while Martin and his team would design the cylinder heads and combustion chamber shapes. This arrangement fell apart after Sir Alfred Owen, Chairman of Rubery Owen and head of BRM, disclosed BRM's involvement in designing the engine for the new "all French" F1 car at a British motor industry dinner. BRM's contract was cancelled, and Matra continued work with French engineering firm and engine specialist Moteur Moderne.

Moteur Moderne was contracted to produce three prototype engines. The cylinder blocks for the prototype engines were made of aluminum, while the production block, and possibly the cylinder heads, were to be of magnesium. Production of the first test engine took only seven months, and the V12 was first fired up on a test bench on 19 December 1967.

Matra planned to unveil a V12-powered road car in 1971. A later model MS81 V12 was installed in an extensively modified Matra Murena by the factory.

Beginning in the 1972 season, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) amended the rules for sports prototypes by combining the previous Group 5 and Group 6 classes into a single new Group 5 class with no minimum production requirement and a maximum displacement limit of 3.0-litres, eliminating the 5.0-litre cars that had raced in earlier seasons, and opening a new competition venue for the Matra V12.

Common features All members of the Matra Sports V12 family are water-cooled, four-stroke V12 engines with an included angle of 60° between cylinder banks. All engines in the family also have the same bore × stroke dimensions of , and total displacement of . The block and cylinder heads are of light alloy. The block uses wet liners in the cylinder bores. The crankshaft has six throws and seven main bearings, and is machined from a solid billet. The engine has two overhead camshafts per cylinder bank driven by a straight-cut geartrain, and four valves per cylinder.

Over the life of the engine family, outputs for individual versions ranged from , and of torque.

Variants MS9

The MS9 was the first model of the Matra Sports V12 to race. Its intake ports are placed between the camshafts on each cylinder head, so that the intake trumpet above each port angled outward on an assembled engine. Some models also had a "pipe organ" exhaust system consisting of a trio of long straight pipes running down each side of the engine.

The included angle between the valves is 56°, raising the height of the combustion chamber and requiring a high dome on the piston to achieve the desired compression ratio.

Unlike the Cosworth DFV, the MS9 was not designed to be a load-bearing part of the car's structure.

The MS9 produced at 10,500 rpm. It was presented to motoring journalists on 11 January 1968 at Vélizy-Villacoublay.

Applications: Matra MS11 Matra-Simca MS630 Matra MS640 Matra MS650

MS12 The MS12 engine was the result of a significant redesign of Matra's V12 engine. A single-cylinder test engine was built by Moteur Moderne to experiment with combustion chamber design. When the data from the test engine were applied to the V12, it resulted in an included angle of 33½° degrees between intake and exhaust valves. Valve diameters in early engines were 31 mm for intakes and 27 mm for exhausts, while on later motors these dimensions increased to 33 mm and 27.2 mm. The intake ports were moved to the side of the cylinder head, indicated by two rows of six trumpets that are mounted vertically in the vee of the cylinder block.

The oil scavenge and pressure pumps for the dry sump system were moved from their position below the crankshaft in the MS9, to the front of the crankcase below the water pump. This had the benefit of reducing the height of the engine assembly. The same 120° steel crankshaft was used as on the MS9, but there was less free space around it in the MS12, to reduce windage losses. Connecting rods were 116 mm long titanium parts, with 44 mm big ends. The pistons are flat-topped, fully-skirted forged aluminum parts.

The MS12 was designed to handle suspension loads fed into a strengthened sump and new structural members bolted to the sides of the top of each cylinder heads. The block and heads were both castings of AS9KG aluminum alloy. The heads were attached by 14 studs, with an additional 6 cap screws threaded from the block into the head on the outboard, exhaust side.

The first generation MS12 developed at 11,000 rpm, and was ready for the 1970 racing season.

Applications: Matra MS120 Matra MS120B Matra-Simca MS660 Matra-Simca MS670 Matra MS670B

MS71 The next iteration of the Matra Sports V12 was the MS71, which debuted in 1971. It produced at 11,000 rpm.

Applications: Matra MS120C Matra MS120D

MS72 The MS72 went into service in 1972. Its power output is at 11,800 rpm.

Applications: Matra MS120C Matra MS120D

MS73 This engine, also called the MS12/73, saw service in both F1 and sports cars in 1975 and 1976. It developed at 11,500 rpm.

Applications: Matra-Simca MS670 Matra-Simca MS670B Matra-Simca MS670C Shadow DN7 Ligier JS5

MS76 The MS76 powered two different Ligier F1 models in 1977 and 1978. It produced at 12,300 rpm.

Applications: Ligier JS7 Ligier JS9

MS78 The MS78 was the Ligier F1 team's engine for two models in 1978. Power output is at 12,300 rpm.

Applications: Ligier JS7 Ligier JS9

MS81 The MS81 engine was used by a different F1 Ligier model in 1981–1982. It was also installed in a prototype road car. In racing trim it developed at 13,000 rpm. It was detuned for the road car application.

Applications: Ligier JS17 Matra MS V12 Prototype Murena 81

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 MS120CMatra 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 JS7Ligier JS7/9Ligier 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 JS17Ligier JS17BLigier 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 Position196824 Hours of Le MansMatra SportsMatra MS630MS9390 at 10,500Pescarolo-Servoz-GavinDNF197224 Hours of Le MansEquipe Matra-Simca ShellMatra MS670MS12435 at 11,000Pescarolo-Hill1197224 Hours of Le MansEquipe Matra-Simca ShellMatra MS670MS12435 at 11,000Cevert-Ganley219736 Hours of Vallelunga1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse119731000 km of Digione1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse1197324 Hours of Le Mans1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse1197324 Hours of Le Mans1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500 Jabouille-Jaussaud319731000 km Zeltweg1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse119736 Hours of Watkins Glen1Equipe Matra-SimcaMatra MS670BMS12450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse119741000 km of Spa2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670CMS12/73490 at 11,500Jarier-Ickx119741000 km of Nürburgring2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670CMS12/73490 at 11,500Jarier-Beltoise119741000 km of Imola2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670B/CMS12/73490 at 11,500Pescarolo-Larrousse1197424 Hours of Le Mans2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670BMS12/73450 at 10,500Pescarolo-Larrousse1197424 Hours of Le Mans2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670BMS12/73450 at 10,500Jabouille-Migault319741000 km Zeltweg2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670B/CMS12/73490 at 11,500Pescarolo-Larrousse119746 Hours of Watkins Glen2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670CMS12/73490 at 11,500Jarier-Beltoise119741000 km of Le Castellet2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670CMS12/73490 at 11,500Jarier-Beltoise119741000 km of Brands Hatch2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670CMS12/73490 at 11,500Jarier-Beltoise119746 Hours of Kyalami2Equipe GitanesMatra MS670B/CMS12/73490 at 11,500Pescarolo-Larrousse1Note:1Valid for the 1973 Sports Prototype Championship, at the end of which Matra will be the overall winner2Valid for the 1974 Sports Prototype Championship, at the end of which Matra will be the overall winner

Proposed replacements MS71 flat 12 In 1971 Matra Sports developed a 3.0-litre flat-twelve engine for their MS120B F1 car. A prototype with an aluminium crankcase is part of the engine display at the Matra Museum in Romorantin-Lanthenay.

MS82 V6