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Venturi 400 Trophy - competition coupe body - manufactured in 1992
France has an interesting tradition in building sportscars which largely has been obscured by better known makes and models from Italy, Germany and the UK. Best known are probably the sportscars made by Alpine and Matra but in recent decades there was also Venturi, far more exotic but also more ambitious. The Venturi models became France's answer to the supercars unleashed on the world by the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.
Venturi's heyday was in the 1990s but its history started a decade before in 1984. In that year designers Gérard Godfroy and Claude Poiraud presented an attractive wedge shaped coupe concept at the Paris Motor Show. It was named the Ventury and featured a space frame chassis covered with a fibre glass body. The design received a favorable reception which attracted the necessary funds to develop a production model.
A company named MVS (Manufacture de Voitures de Sport, which translates simply into sportscar manufacturer) was founded in 1985 and work began in a corner of the factory of Jean Rondeau, famous for his Le Mans winning racing cars. Two years later the new car was ready for production. The company moved into a new factory in a town named Cholet and started to manufacture about four cars per week which were sold as the MVS Venturi. It was powered by the well-known Renault 2,5 litre V6 engine, fitted with a turbo and placed central in the chassis, longitudinal between the seats and the rear axle. At 1280 kg the MVS Venturi was more a Gran Turismo than a performance car, which was underlined by its nice interior with wood in the dashboard and leather seats. Still, the engine provided some 200 hp which was enough for a maximum speed of just under 250 kph and a 0 to 100 kph acceleration at 6.9 seconds.
The elegant car with its clean angular lines was immediately compared to contemporaries like the Ferrari 328 and the Porsche 911 and fell a bit short in terms of turbo lag and ride quality but still was regarded attractive enough to sell 52 times during its first year. In 1988 a convertible version appeared which was named the Transcup and the quest for more performance started in 1989 by enlarging engine capacity to 2,8 litre. This upped engine power to 260 hp and, more importantly, reduced turbo lag dramatically. Top speed improved to 270 kph. It also marked the beginning of fitting the original design with wings and spoilers. Modest at first, these add-ons grew larger with each incarnation.
By 1991 the MVS brand name was dropped, from now the car was simply known as Venturi. Horsepower ratings became the model names. With the original engine the car was named the Venturi 210 (up 10 hp from where it started) and with the enlarged engine it became the Venturi 260. Both models were available as the Transcup convertible. To keep up with competition from the Alpine A610 also a lightweight version was introduced: the 260 Atlantique. Weight was brought down to 1100 kg yet maximum speed was still 270 kph; acceleration was marginally quicker than that of the regular 260 model. More importantly perhaps was the special trim of the Atlantique: instead of air-conditioning, radio and spare wheel it featured Recaro bucket seats, carbon fibre dashboard, aluminium pedals and a lowered suspension. At the exterior all Atlantiques were finished in a striking electric blue metallic complemented by special dark grey alloy wheels. This definitely was a move towards racing instead of touring cars.
The next obvious step was establishing a racing pedigree for the new make. In 1992 Venturi joined forces with the Larousse F1 team which effectively resulted in adding the Venturi name to that of the Grand Prix car. More interesting was the start of the Venturi Trophy, a single make racing competition for gentleman drivers. A special racing version of the Venturi coupe was developed for this series. It featured a 3-litre biturbo V6 engine providing no less than 408 hp @ 6000 rpm, new racing suspension, a reinforced long wheelbase chassis and carbon disc brakes. A kevlar body unashamedly referring to the mythic Ferrari F40 added to the attraction. This was clearly a serious racing car, a brute even, and it attracted a lot of attention. The Trophy was an immediate success and no less than 73 Venturi 400 Trophy cars were produced, all providing plenty of excitement on the racing track for a couple of years. These cars were not homologated for road use but after the Venturi Trophy had ended quite a few were converted and successfully registered, like the one you see here. Quite a hairy ride, I imagine, and they do sound awesome.
In 1993 a number of 500 hp strong Venturis took part in the famous Le Mans 24 hours endurance race and scored good results. This lead to the Venturi 260 LM special edition. A more exciting spin-off was the Venturi 400 GT in 1994, which was the official road version of the Trophy car. Its design was slightly less aggressive and it was fitted with all the comforts of a luxury car but still the true spirit of the Trophy was carried over. Most importantly it had the impressive 407 hp race engine which rocketed the car to speeds around 300 kph. As such it claimed the title of fastest French production car, only to be beaten by the Bugatti Veyron a decade later.
Scotsman Hubert O'Neill acquired Venturi in 1994 and soon after the development of a successor to the original Venturi was concluded, again with Gérard Godfroy as the designer. The new Venturi 300 Atlantique was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in the autumn. Based on the long wheelbase chassis of the 400 GT it appeared more modern with rounded, flowing lines and yet it retained the familiar elegant Venturi looks. Power came from the new Peugeot/Citroën 3-litre 24 valve V6 unit, again placed behind the seats and available with (281 hp) and without turbo (210 hp). The most powerful Venturi ever was let loose on the track of Le Mans in 1995: the 600 SLM. Its 3-litre biturbo engine cranked out up to 640 hp but it proved to be no match for the McLaren F1 GTR. With Alpine having been shut down by Renault the future looked bright for Venturi.
But it was not to be. A year later Venturi was in serious trouble, mainly as a result of investing to much in competition cars and disappointing sales. Bankruptcy followed in 1996 and Venturi was restarted by the Nakarin Benz Group from Thailand. The production of the 400 GT and 300 Atlantique was continued and an addition followed in 1998 with the 300 Atlantique Biturbo. Now the Atlantique actually had over 300 hp under the hood and it proved to be a well built car matching what the competition had to offer. Still that wasn't enough and in 2000 Venturi was again declared bankrupt. Gildo Pallanca Pastor from Monaco bought the rights to Venturi and part of its assets but left all what Venturi had offered behind and set out to introduce revolutionary new electric sports cars produced in very limited numbers; quite a different story.
In all about 700 Venturis were produced up to 2000. It proved to be a courageous attempt to introduce a new sportscar make in France that could challenge Ferrari and Porsche but failed as a result of a lack of finance and effective marketing. However it succeeded in putting some very attractive and exciting cars on the road which still find their way to hearts of sportscar enthusiasts. Venturis are now sought after exotics that certainly will become classic one day.
© André Ritzinger, Amsterdam, Holland
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