French builders – René Bonnet

From the beginnings of the René Bonnet brand (1962) to Matra's first victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1972), ten years have passed, and which have changed history. What would it have been without Marcel Chassagny's interest in automobiles? Takeover of an aeronautics company in 1937, he transformed it into Matra (Mécanique Aviation TRAction) in 1941. Following the Second World War, the company specialized in armaments, becoming the French leader in lances -rockets and missiles. The connection between Chassagny and Bonnet was made through their mutual friend André Moynet, an influential man in military, political and sporting circles. A test pilot in aeronautics, the latter is also a DB pilot in his spare time. It was through him that Chassagny became, in November 1958, one of the shareholders of the EPAF company (Studies, Spare Parts and Manufacturing Accessories, see our 1st episode on DB, Ah 2350. Ndlr) lorsque celle-ci est transformée en S.A. et fait l’objet d’une augmentation de capital. Le 28 septembre 1961, EPAF se mue en Automobiles René Bonnet, Chassagny en restant l’un des actionnaires. Par ailleurs,