TIL Matra built a prototype Bagheera with two inline-4 engines fused together to make a U8 – because one engine just wasn’t weird enough.

The regular Matra Bagheera was already unusual – a mid-engined 1970s French sports car with three seats placed side-by-side across the cabin. Instead of the usual 2-seat layout, Matra designed it so three adults could sit abreast, which made the car surprisingly practical despite its wedge-shaped body.

But in 1973, Matra experimented with something even stranger: the Bagheera U8.

Instead of designing a brand-new V8, engineers essentially paired two 1.3L Simca inline-4 engines together on a common crank system to create a compact “U8.” The idea was to dramatically increase power while keeping the engine small enough to fit in the mid-engine bay.

On paper, it was brilliant. In reality, it was complicated, heavy, and difficult to cool. Only a prototype was built, and the project was ultimately abandoned before production.

Some articles about the engine:
https://www.carsguide.com.au/oversteer/the-bagheera-u8-a-u-engined-flagship-that-never-made-it-to-production-63408

https://driventowrite.com/2021/09/15/matra-simca-bagheera-u8-profile-history/