Elf Scan 19: Matra MS 11

Revealed at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, the MS11 was the first F1 car to be 100% Matra-developed, from its chassis to its 3L V-12 engine.  The MS11 was a complete monocoque, but it was slightly behind the leading edge set by Lotus in the previous season, as the engine did not play a structural role in the chassis, unlike the Ford-powered MS10, which was designed after the Lotus.  Jean-Pierre Beltoise piloted the car to 2nd in the Dutch Grand Prix that year, also beating the lap record.  The Matra V-12 was a magnificient engine, but Matra decided it needed more development before it could be a winner, and the political pressure to win was too great.  Therefore a Ford Cosworth DFV, rather than a French engine, would power Matra to the championship in 1969.

Elf Scan 12: Matra MS 630

The V-12 powered MS 630 was Matra's first serious Le Mans contender. Campaigned in the tumultuous year of 1968, which saw the 24 hour race moved from June to September due to labor and student unrest, the MS 630 ran as high as second place before retiring due to a puncture in the 22nd hour!

Lamborghini's latest sculptural masterpiece

Now I'm not one for "engine porn" as they call it, but the new powerplant for the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 looks like a fantastical weapon to be carried by a Gundam. It's just beautiful and hyper-futuristic. The same words apply to the car itself which, though stylistically extrovert as only a Lamborghini can be, is so well proportioned and full of refined details it really blows me away.  I know many people might consider the new Aventador vulgar, but I think it's probably the most avant-garde thing happening right now in car design and it makes Ferrari's FF look positively declasse in comparison. Sure it could be a little simpler and more restrained, but I kind of love the fractured surfacing that gives the car such energy. It's like the took all the good things from the outlandish Sesto Elemento show car and applied them with a more production-oriented sensibility.  Bravo Lamborghini! Bel Lavoro!

Sacre Bleu! Matra V-12 Prototype Cutaways and Video

I really love these cutaway illustrations by Robert Roux, showing the inner workings of the Matra Prototype race cars.  The Matra V-12 has one of the most spine-tingling, ear-shattering mechanical banshee screams I have ever heard. It was not terribly successful in an F1 chassis, but in the Matra sports prototypes, it propelled the French aerospace company, formerly occupied with advanced missile systems, to 3 time outright victory at La Sarthe in 1972-74.

The good part starts around 0:35 when they fire it up! The exquisite part starts around 1:18 when the dumb piano music fades out and they really uncork it!!

Quite a model kit! The XKE Series III V-12 revealed!

The engine bay of a Series III V-12 E-type is of Byzantine complexity. But when you lay all the parts out like this, it looks like child's play doesn't it? That's because none of the crazy wiring and plumbing is present! I loved this photo, taken by Photographer Mike Dean at "The Sports Car Shop" in Eugene, OR.

Click here to see more extensive photosets of this remarkable E-type's full resto.

Via "The Chicane" hat tip to commenter Dan Crouch for the additional info!  Image Credit: Mike Dean