The Djet
The car started out as the René Bonnet Djet (later known as Djet I) in June 1962. The car was named Djet, because Bonnet thought the French could not pronounce the word jet correctly. It was powered by a 65 PS (48 kW) 1,108 cc Renault 8 mid-engine mated to a Renault Estafette gearbox, giving a top speed of 165 km/h (103 mph) or, in the Djet III with an uprated Gordini engine, 190 km/h (118 mph). The fiberglass body was made by Matra, which was glued to a steel chassis. Matra also provided the factory where the Djets were built, in Romorantin. There was also the competition Aérodjet of 1963 (pictured in the gallery), with a special long tail and bigger fenders to accommodate wider wheels.
The Djet had a very modern design with disc brakes and independent suspension with wishbones and coil springs all around. The car accommodated for two people, there was no back seat as the engine took that place. The car measured 3.80 m (length) by 1.40 m (width) by 1.15 m (height) and weighed only 600 kg (1,323 lb). The 1962 Bonnet Djet was the worlds first mid-engined production road car, beating the de Tomaso Vallelunga which was introduced in 1963. The first production Djets actually only left the factory in July 1963. The Lamborghini Miura was not introduced until 1966 four years after the Djet. There were 198 Bonnet Djet produced during the two years before Matra took over Bonnet (all but 19 were of the lowest-powered Djet I specification), and the car became the Matra Djet in 1964 with a further 1,491 cars produced before production ended in 1968. There were less than 60 de Tomaso Vallelunga produced before it was replaced by the Mangusta in 1967.
The Djet was priced at 20,000 francs at launch, the same at the time as the much larger and more luxurious Facel-Vega Facellia. Bonnet believed that the competition record of the Djet and his company would be enough to convince the public to purchase the Djet, but such was not the case.
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