MVS Venturi
Rare and stylish French alternative to an Esprit – or a Ferrari…
NAME SOMETHING French, powered by a turbocharged PRV engine, clothed in glassfibre – but not an Alpine… Answer? The MVS Venturi.
Manufacture de Voitures de Sport launched a prototype at the 1984 Paris motor show, but it took former Heuliez employees Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy three years to get the first models to market. Racing drivers Mauro Bianchi and JeanPierre Beltoise played a key role in developing the suspension, while funding was secured to open a dedicated factory near Nantes, France.
It’s hard not to draw comparisons with the Alpine. It uses the same 2.5-litre V6 and Renaultsourced transaxle. Unlike the Renault, however, both engine and transmission are mid-mounted, making it closer in concept to the Lotus Esprit. On which subject, the ride is Lotus-esque in its suppleness, and its forgiving handling balance make it a fun and easy car to drive quickly, but the Venturi offers much more room for taller drivers, and it’s luxuriously finished in wood ’n’ leather, too.
It was well received by the press, but it ultimately didn’t pack quite enough punch to compete with Porsche and Ferrari. MVS’s answer came in 1989 with the 2.80 SPC and 260 APC. Further developing the turbocharged V6 with highcompression pistons and a new long-stroke crankshaft increased capacity to 2.8 litres, and power to a much healthier 260bhp.
The MVS name was dropped shortly after, with all models then simply badged Venturi. In an attempt to build some awareness for the relatively unknown manufacturer, motor sport activity was key. The Venturi-Larousse Formula 1 race team was founded for one season in 1992, as well as the one-make Venturi Trophy series and an assault on the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1993.
Road cars slipped down the list of priorities, although the wild 400GT was launched in 1994. Only ten of these extreme road cars were converted from the Kevlar-bodied Trophy racers by the factory. They weighed less than 1100kg and pushed out more than 400bhp, so their performance was savage.
Despite all this, the MVS/Venturi story didn’t end well. An updated Atlantique model in 1996 brought in a new, more rounded look, but sales were limited and production stopped in 2000 when the company faced bankruptcy again. It was sold to Monegasque Gildo Pallanca Pastor. Today Venturi focuses on very small-scale electric car production, and currently competes in the fully electric Formula E series.
While it created some fantastic cars and competed at the top level of motor sport, Venturi made little impact internationally. That’s a shame, perhaps, but with little more than 600 Venturis of all shapes and sizes built between 1987 and 2000, owning one gives you membership to a very exclusive club. Matthew Hayward