Matra Rancho: the off-road look without four-wheel drive

The Matra Rancho was a leisure activity vehicle created by Matra with Simca to cash in on the off-road trend started by the Range Rover, offering an off-road look at a much lower price. It went on sale in 1977 and, after Chrysler Europe passed to PSA and the brand became Talbot in 1979, continued as the Talbot Matra Rancho until 1984.

Matra Rancho at a glance

based on one source (English Wikipedia).

History of the Matra Rancho

The Rancho was launched in 1977 and became a popular model, though it could not solve the larger problems of Chrysler Europe, Simca’s parent at the time. Chrysler sold its European arm to PSA in 1978, the operation was rebranded Talbot in 1979, and the Matra-Simca Rancho became the Talbot Matra Rancho. Production ran until 1984 and the car stayed on sale until January 1985, by which time 57,792 had been built.

It was designed by Antonis Volanis and based on the pick-up version of the Simca 1100, whose front structure and stretched chassis it used. The rest of the body, including the mouldings that gave it a sturdier look, was made by Matra from fibreglass and polyester — a technique later used for the Renault Espace. Ground clearance was raised, but unlike most off-roaders the Rancho kept the 1100’s front-wheel drive. The dashboard and front seats were carried over from the Simca 1100 GLS, and power came from the 1,442 cc, 80 hp version of the Poissy engine.

The Rancho produced an unlikely successor. Matra wanted to replace it with a prototype of what became the Espace, the “dessin orange”, which predicted the shape of the first Espace but had three doors instead of five. Peugeot, then in control of Matra, thought the project too expensive; Matra took it to Renault, which adopted it, and the Espace arrived in 1984 as arguably the first European minivan.

Several versions were offered. The Grand Raid added an electric winch on the front bumper, a spare wheel on the roof, a limited-slip differential, undercarriage protection and bronze-tinted glass, and came only in matte green. The Rancho X was the upscale model with alloy wheels and metallic paint. The Découvrable had an open rear cabin with roll-down fabric covers, and the Rancho AS was a commercial version without a rear seat, exempt from the French tax on passenger cars.

Design and features

• Off-road styling: raised ride height and bulky mouldings on a front-wheel-drive base.
• Composite body: fibreglass and polyester panels made by Matra.
• Simca 1100 foundations: pick-up chassis, dashboard and GLS front seats.
• Practical cabin: a leisure vehicle aimed at families rather than at off-road use.

Matra Rancho versions

• Rancho: the standard model.
• Grand Raid: winch, roof-mounted spare, limited-slip differential, matte green paint.
• Rancho X: alloy wheels and metallic paint.
• Découvrable: open rear cabin with fabric covers.
• Rancho AS: two-seat commercial version.

The Rancho used the running gear of the Talbot 1100, and Matra’s other coupe in the range was the Murena. More cars are in the Talbot collection.

Sources

• Matra Rancho, English Wikipedia: history, design, versions, production