PS I forgot to mention it but there is a truly fascinating historical link between Matra, the Espace, the Avantime and the recent sequence of posts on the 2000-2005 era MG Rover. If this deal between MG Rover and Matra had gone ahead, it might have helped both companies survive longer!
https://www.aronline.co.uk/history/mg-rover-and-matra/