Matra Sports was established in 1965 when Matra (aerospace company) took over the René Bonnet company (Matra built the fibre-glass bodies for Bonnet). This car was known as the Matra Djet. In 1969 Matra was taken over by Simca.
After parting company with Simca (new Chrysler) Matra independently entered into an agreement with Renault to build the Renault Espace and much later, the Avantime.