A René Bonnet Djet found at “SWAP & MEET in Myoko”

Historic car events are flourishing all over Japan these days, and in the high season of spring and fall, there are meetings and events of various sizes held in various places every weekend. Among such events, a fresh event is “SWAP & MEET in Myoko,” which will be held for the first time. We spoke with Mr. Kazumitsu Kumakura, who participated in this event with his Djet, the last model of sports car under the René Bonnet name.

This is the last sports car model under the René Bonnet name

What caught my eye at the event was the “Djet,” a sports car manufactured by René Bonnet that is very rare in Japan, with a “NOT FOR SALE” sign affixed to it. Despite the honor of having debuted in 1963 as the first production mid-ship sports car, three years before the Lotus Europa, this French sports car is not so well known in Japan.

“This is the second Rene Bonnet road car to be released after the Missile, and mine is a 1964 model. In that year, René Bonnet was bought by Matra, also of France, and in 1965 the car was renamed the Matra Djet, so this was the last sports car under the René Bonnet name,”

said owner Mr. Kazumitsu Kumakura.

Purchased the world’s first production mid-ship sports car 6 years ago

“It was the world’s first production midship sports car, and I had been saying for a long time that I wanted one, and I happened to find one for sale overseas. I happened to find one for sale overseas and acquired it in April 2016.”

Mr. Kumakura says that when he was a student, he wanted a Ferrari 250 GTO or, more realistically, a Citroen GS. Now, in addition to this Jet, he also owns a Talbot Matra “Murena”. One would think that his tastes would be limited to Latin cars, but to his surprise, he owns a Land Rover Defender 110 and a Mercedes-Benz W124 in addition to his two French sports cars.

“I like anything with tires,” he says.

Participation from home in Tokyo to Myoko Plateau by self-drive by one person

“The odometer reads about 45,000 km, but I don’t think that’s possible. I don’t know how many laps I have done.”

“I thought this was the only one in Japan, but I heard that a more beautiful one landed recently. The body mine is getting a little tired, so I want to take care of it and do some maintenance.”

The appearance of the Djet is not as tired as he says, but rather dignified and hale and hearty. Mr. Kumakura uses this Djet not only for participating in historic car events but also in his daily life. He drove the jet by himself from his house in Tokyo to the Myoko Plateau for this event.