1983 Matra Murena sports car goes on sale in Russia

A rare 1983 Matra Murena is looking for a new owner in Sochi, Russian Federation. The French automaker had produced the hot hatchback from 1980 to 1983 and only made 480 units in the top ‘S’ specification seen here.

The asking price is 2.5 million rubles ($36,050 USD) for a vehicle with around 76,900 km (47,783 miles) under its belt. The Murena S comes based on a space frame and has per-wheel suspension with wishbones at the front end and McPherson struts in the back. The chassis is zinc-coated (some claim it was the world’s first), the bodywork is GFRP, and the cabin has three seats. The middle seat can be folded down into an armrest.

Elsewhere, the hatchback takes much from other French vehicles of its era, specifically those with Citroen, Peugeot, Simca, and Talbot badging. The standard trim level comes equipped with a 2.2-liter engine designed by a Chrysler branch in France. It churns out 118 PS (116 hp / 87 kW) in the main spec and 142 PS (140 hp / 104 kW) in the S spec. A five-speed Citroen CX manual gearbox sends the power to the wheels.

You can watch the attached video to get a good idea of what a Murena S is. The seller claims a private car collector legally imported this example into Russia 13 years ago. It had allegedly spent most of its time sitting on display in a museum and never changed owners.