1974 MS670C #7 Pilots: H. Pescarolo, G. Larrousse Team: Equipe Gitanes Race: 1st GC (S class) at Le Mans in 1974 Ixo - LM 1974 (diecast)
Published 09/10/18
The MS670C was Matra’s third and final prototype for Le Mans. The manufacturer started out their Le Mans effort in 1966, with the M620. Their best result was in 1969, when the MS650 finished in fourth and fifth places. But the first podium only came in 1972, with the MS670 finishing in first and second places. Finally Matra had a winning car, and in 1973 they won again, with the MS670B. Though with two overall wins in a row, Matra didn’t stand still and evolved the car into the MS670C. The differences between the B and C cars were very few, mostly aerodynamic. Both used the same MS73 engine (2999 cm³ V12) and Porsche 5-speed manual gearbox.
The Matra works team for the 24 Heures du Mans of 1974 was Equipe Gitanes. They had four cars in the race, three 670C and an experimental MS 680. Pescarolo and Larousse dominated the race, and were in the lead from the get go. The only drama was on Sunday morning, when their (Porsche) gearbox failed. It took 45 minutes to fix, but their advantage was such that they retained first place all the way to the end. However, the fix consisted in swapping the broken gearbox for a new one. And that was against the rules. But since no other team officially protested, #7 was not disqualified and Matra had its third win.
The race of 1974 was the last time a Matra was at La Sarthe. In 1975 they pulled out of motorsports in general, and became only an engine supplier for F1. With that, the MS670C #7 was the last French Blue car to win at Le Mans. This is my second model of this car, and replaces my previous Altaya version. Not counting the complete livery, Ixo’s version is much better detailed. To my surprise though, the Altaya has marked tires, and this Ixo doesn’t. So it looks like a certain model will be a tire donor…
UPDATE!
Published 09/12/18
And here it is, my improved and much better-looking MS670C! Without a doubt the easiest mod I ever did to a model. It was just a matter of pulling off the tires from my old Altaya and putting them on the Ixo. I didn’t even have to remove the chassis. Really, it was just pull and swap. And as you can see, the model looks more realistic with the marked tires.
But I saw something that I hadn’t noticed before… This MS670C #7 has MS 670 B printed on the side . I immediately went after pics of the real car and that’s how it was in 1974. Any ideas why 🤔?