Hey there, I am finally a Matra Bagheera owner. I couldn't find an official place to put up my 'introduction'. Hope it's ok here.
My love for the Bagheera started when I was about 7 when my father brought home a VW Scirocco
from the garage he worked in at the time. I know, what does that have to do with a Bagheera? Well I thought the Scirocco was cool cause it was a Coupe and it was noisy. It was a Friday and he took me out for a spin. But later on that night my father said his boss was coming to take the Scirocco home
I was sad for about 5 minutes because when I saw what he was leaving in it's place I nearly fainted. A Series 2 Bagheera in Red! It was gorgeous! Of course I had no idea what it was. And of course I asked "is that a Ferrari?". But he explained what it was and then took his 1/24 Bburago Bagheera from the cabinet and said "it is one of these". I took the model and sat outside with both the model and the real Bagheera for the rest of the night. I actually remember noticing the differences between the Series 1 model and the Series 2 car. I knew it had different back lights and bumpers. I kept that model till only last year when it fell out of my bedroom window one windy day and hit the ground very hard. It was twisted and most of the plastic parts were cracked and even missing. I still have the left-overs but it's not much. I have also over the years (Since I joined eBay) started a little Bagheera model collection of my own. I keep them away from my window though
But I never was able to buy a real Bagheera because there are very few in Ireland. I've seen a few, all Series 2's, and nearly bought one before too. I bid on a lovely Yellow Series 1 in France earlier this year but I was out bid after €5000. It was beautiful. Had the black and lime green interior. I wanted it so bad. The Series 1 is my favourite but I do love the Series 2 as well. I would love to own both.
Now when I tell you what Bagheera I bought recently please don't laugh. A black Series 1 from eBay in the UK. The one that had the Abarth stickers put onto it. The reason I say don't laugh is cause I've seen a lot of people say bad things about it but I know it has potential. I will be collecting it this weekend and I can't wait! I don't like the way it looks now myself but in time I plan to change it back to an original Bagheera. I'm paying €1200 for it so it is a cheap way into Bagheera ownership, but it will need quite a lot of money spent on it in the near future. I'm sure I will probably buy myself a really nice totally original Bagheera again later on in my life but this will more than do for now. The car hasn't been driven much in over 2 years and my brother and I will be driving it 160 miles from Leeds to Holyhead to get the boat back to Dublin. Wish me luck as I won't have any tools with me. I hope it makes it
When I register it here I'm going to try and find out how many Bagheeras there are here and how many Series 1's there are. I hope it'll be the only one
Bob.