F3 History

Following on from the demise of DB (q.v.) in 1962 René Bonnet started to work on his own account and began with building the rear-engined Djet sports car. This was swiftly followed by a F Junior chassis based on Renault components which in turn was followed by a F2 car. Both the Junior and F2 designs were similar, a spaceframe chassis with aluminium sheets riveted to the exterior and fibreglass panels glued to the inside. Suspension was double wishbone front and rear with inboard coil springs and dampers, a Renault engine and gearbox was used. Neither car was successful and the struggling company was taken over in 1964 by the French aerospace company Matra who were looking at a way to get involved in motor sport. The Bonnet F2 design would become the basis for the Matra MS1, the first F3 chassis from the company. Twice during 1964 Bonnet-Renaults were entered in French F3 races but never arrived. One entry was for the man himself, René Bonnet, and it was a works entry, if it existed was it a converted F Junior or the F2 car to F3 specifications.