The MS80 was designed under the direction of Gérard Ducarouge and Bernard Boyer and built at Matra's Formula One facility at Vélizy-Villacoublay, in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. The final assembly incorporating the Cosworth engine was completed at the Tyrrell workshop in East Horsley, near Ripley in Surrey, England.
The most significant technical departure from the preceding MS10 was the repositioning of the fuel cell. In the MS10 the fuel had been carried behind the driver, but the MS80 moved this mass into sidepods flanking the driver's hips, producing a distinctive narrowed "Coke bottle" waist profile that became something of a design benchmark. The front suspension was revised from the rocker-arm configuration of the MS10 to outboard springs, and the rear suspension adopted a parallel-link arrangement.
Like other cars of the 1969 season, the MS80 featured aerodynamic wings to generate downforce — a concept introduced to Formula One in 1968. After several serious accidents in the early part of 1969 caused by the tall, fragile high-wing structures then in use, the regulations were tightened mid-season, and all cars including the MS80 were modified to use lower, sturdier wings mounted directly to the bodywork.
The MS80 was entered by Ken Tyrrell's Matra International team rather than by Matra's own works operation. The car was powered by a 3,000 cc Ford Cosworth DFV engine producing an estimated 420 bhp (313 kW). Stewart drove the car to the World Drivers' Championship in 1969, with the constructor's title following as well.
Only two complete MS80s were assembled during the 1969 season. A third monocoque was produced but left unfinished, remaining in that state until the EPAF company completed it into a full car in 2006.
The MS80 holds a distinctive place in Formula One history. Alongside Ferrari cars, it is one of the only Formula One cars not built in Britain to win the World Constructors' Championship — a distinction noted because the other non-British-licensed constructors to win the title (Renault, Red Bull, Mercedes) all built their championship-winning cars in the United Kingdom. The MS80 also remains the only car built in France to have assisted a driver in winning the World Drivers' Championship.
Furthermore, as the entry was made by the privateer Matra International rather than by Matra itself, the MS80 is the only car entered by a privateer — not a works team — to have won both the Constructors' Championship and the Drivers' Championship in the same season.
In a 2006 issue of Motor Sport magazine, Jackie Stewart described the MS80 as the nicest-handling Formula One car he had ever driven.
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