The current state of affairs in racing must be depressing to a good number of purists missing the wail of high-revving, normally-aspirated motors. However, the insistence on drawing a link between road cars and racing machines, silly as it is, has made the top tiers of motorsport turn to the turbo for reasons of fuel economy. Turbos can sound interesting, but never could one compare the buzz of a turbocharged motor to the glorious, godly scream of a big-bore V12. Twelve-cylinder engines have been in motorsport for ages, but never has there been anything as awe-inspiring and as intimidating as the roar of the Matra V12.

With French cigarettes pushing a classy livery, the JS9 was very pretty, but it sounded better than it looked.

Jacques Laffite’s Ligier-Matra JS9 would never win a race in 1978, but it was quick. On the podium in both Spain and Germany, it was competitive, though its reputation wasn’t founded on results — the roar of the Matra MS78 turned mens’ hair white as it drove by. Being a V12, it was large, complicated, and heavy, but if the Matra had one advantage, it was its power.

Note how Jacques Lafitte never seems to wait for the power to come in. With twelve cylinders, 500 horsepower, and 12,300 revs to play with, the motor is always on-song, and the position of Lafitte’s right foot corresponds with a proportionate push towards the horizon. Though times have changed, perhaps this video and its subject’s divine engine note can remind the authorities that when the engines sound as good as the Matra V12, the fans won’t mind going deaf.