The MS120 represented the culmination of Matra's Formula One chassis programme, following the MS9, MS10, MS11, MS80, and MS84. The car was powered by the Matra Sports V12 engine, an all-French powerplant that became central to the team's identity after the split with Ken Tyrrell's operation. Following a new agreement with Simca, Matra asked Tyrrell to switch from the Ford Cosworth DFV to the Matra V12. Jackie Stewart tested the engine, but the combination of Ford financial backing and Elf's contractual ties to Renault — precluding support for a Simca partner — made the arrangement impossible. Tyrrell and Matra parted ways, and for 1970 Matra assembled an entirely French driver lineup of Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo.
The MS120 was subsequently developed across four specification variants: the original MS120, the MS120B, MS120C, and MS120D, which were used across the 1970, 1971, and 1972 Formula One seasons.
In its debut year the MS120 delivered mixed results. Beltoise took fourth place at the South African Grand Prix while Pescarolo struggled to seventh. The Monaco Grand Prix produced the best result of that early run, with Pescarolo claiming third place. Belgium was another productive round: Beltoise finished third and Pescarolo sixth despite an electrical problem. The Dutch Grand Prix saw Beltoise fifth and Pescarolo eighth, and Pescarolo added a fifth place at the French Grand Prix on home soil. A third for Beltoise at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was one of the season's highlights. Retirements through engine failures, wheel issues, and handling problems were frequent, limiting the car's championship potential. Pescarolo was not retained for 1971, replaced by New Zealander Chris Amon.
For 1971, Matra fielded Beltoise alongside newly signed Chris Amon using the MS120B specification. Amon had impressed in testing and was designated team leader, a decision that caused friction with Beltoise. Amon won the non-championship Argentine Grand Prix and took third at the Spanish Grand Prix. Monaco proved troublesome, both drivers retiring with differential failures. Amon took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and ran strongly against Ferrari at their home circuit before finishing sixth. Beltoise faced personal difficulties after being implicated in the accident at the 1000 km Buenos Aires sports car race in which Italian driver Ignazio Giunti died; his international racing licence was suspended for a period. By the end of 1971, Beltoise had decided to leave the team, joining BRM for 1972.
Chris Amon continued alone as Matra's sole driver in 1972, initially with the MS120C before the MS120D was introduced mid-season. Early rounds were marked by persistent gearbox problems in Argentina and Spain. Amon scored sixth places at Monaco and Belgium before a dramatic French Grand Prix at Charade, where he qualified on pole, led the race, was forced to pit with a puncture, then charged back through the field to finish third while setting a new lap record. He added a fourth at the British Grand Prix and a fifth at the Austrian Grand Prix, but reliability issues cost points elsewhere. The season closed with Amon finishing 15th at the United States Grand Prix. After 1972 Matra withdrew from Formula One entirely, redirectring their motorsport efforts toward sports car racing and the pursuit of overall victory at Le Mans.
The MS120 family represented the high-water mark of Matra's Formula One chassis development. Although the car never won a World Championship Grand Prix, it demonstrated the competitiveness of the all-French Matra V12 engine package and provided a foundation for the manufacturer's later success in endurance racing. The collaboration between Ducarouge and Boyer on the MS120 also helped establish a design lineage that informed subsequent French motorsport engineering thinking. Matra's withdrawal from Formula One in 1972 closed one chapter but launched a successful sports car programme that would yield multiple Le Mans victories.