MVS Venturi/Venturi. 1987–2000 (prod. n/a). 2-door coupé, 2-door LWB coupé, 2-door coupé–cabriolet. M/R, 1995 cm³ (I4 OHC), 2458, 2849, 2975 cm³ (V6 OHC). French sports’ car, the brainchild of Gérard Godfroy and Claude Poiraud. Attempted to be all-French product, including Peugeot four at development stage, before upgrading to Renault 2·5 V6 a year later, both developing 200 bhp thanks to turbocharging. Parts’ bin sourcing: Renault Fuego side glass, Citroën CX rear-view mirrors, Mercedes-Benz W201 windscreen wiper, Renault 5 Turbo front indicators and BMW 3er-Reihe (E21) rear lights. First cars delivered 1987, but fell short of what Ferrari and Porsche could offer, with less performance. Harsh ride, poor handling, turbo lag. Transcup, a hardtop convertible, from 1988. Upgrade to 2·8 in 1989. MVS marque dropped in favour of Venturi in 1990. Stripped-down Atlantique 260 from 1991; 210 denoted detuned 2·8 turbo model. Four-cylinder for Italian market introduced 1991. Le Mans model commemorating entry into the race in 1993, while LWB 407 bhp Trophy for one-marque racing series introduced the same year with 3·0 twin-turbo V6. The 400 GT in 1994 was based on the Trophy, claiming fastest French production car title.

Manufacturing locations: Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, France; Couëron, Nantes, France

Marque: MVS | Successor: Venturi Atlantique 300