The M382 was designed under the leadership of Jean Rondeau, the French racing driver who had co-driven a Rondeau to victory at the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rather than starting from a blank sheet, Rondeau based the M382 heavily on the successful M379 primarily for financial reasons, as the small French outfit consistently operated on a tight budget. Compared to its predecessor, the M382 featured a longer wheelbase, revised rear suspension, larger brakes at both axles, and an aerodynamically improved rear body section.
Power came primarily from the Cosworth DFL V8 in 3.3-litre form for customer cars. Works entries at Le Mans were upgraded to a larger 3.9-litre version of the same engine. Some chassis also ran a 5.4-litre Chevrolet small-block V8, reflecting the car's adaptability for the North American IMSA GTP series.
By early 1982, four chassis had been completed. Two were sold to North American customers — Belcher Racing and Golden Eagle Racing, both running in the IMSA GTP class. Chassis 003 went to French privateer Christian Bussi, while chassis 004 was retained by the works team.
The M382 made its competition debut at the 1982 24 Hours of Daytona. Both American entries arrived with minimal preparation time, and neither car performed to expectations. Golden Eagle Racing's car, driven by Bill Knoll, Irv Hoerr, and Skeeter McKitterick, qualified 13th, while the Belcher Racing entry of Danny Sullivan, Gary Belcher, and Hubert Phipps started one position behind. Both were more than nine seconds off the pole time set by Bobby Rahal's March 82G, and both retired before the finish after repeated unscheduled pit stops.
The European debut proved dramatically different. At the 1000 km of Monza, Henri Pescarolo qualified the works M382 on pole position and went on to win the race alongside Giorgio Francia. This result established the M382 as a genuine contender in the World Endurance Championship.
Over the course of the 1982 season, Rondeau scored second overall at the 1000 km Nürburgring with Pescarolo and Rolf Stommelen, fifth at the 6 Hours of Silverstone with Pescarolo and Gordon Spice, and fifth at the 1000 km Spa with François Migault and Spice. With these results accumulating, Rondeau appeared positioned to win the overall prize in the marque cup of the sports car world championship.
That outcome was denied by a controversy. A Porsche 930 entered in the Group B category at the Nürburgring was awarded additional points following a protest, shifting the manufacturers' world championship title to Porsche. Jean Rondeau's counter-protest failed, and the result left him furious. He announced the factory's withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship both as team boss and as a driver. The one exception was Le Mans, where the works team continued to field cars in 1982 and 1983, though without success.
In North America, the M382 enjoyed only marginal results in IMSA competition. The sole bright moment came in July 1982, when Skeeter McKitterick placed an M382 third overall in a 100-mile race at Sears Point.
In 1983, with the new M482 having been developed as a replacement, three additional M382 chassis were constructed and sold to privateer teams. The type continued to appear at the highest level of endurance racing for several more seasons in private hands. The best result in this later period came in 1984, when Pierre Yver and Bernard de Dryver drove chassis 005 to seventh place at the 1000 km of Monza.
The M382 represented Rondeau's most competitive Group C effort. Its season-long consistency in the 1982 World Endurance Championship — including an outright race win at Monza and multiple top-five finishes — demonstrated that the small French constructor could compete at the front of Group C despite limited resources. The controversy that cost Rondeau the manufacturers' championship title that year remains one of the more acrimonious moments in early Group C history. The car's longevity in privateer hands, racing through to at least 1986, also testified to the soundness of its basic engineering despite the lean budget on which it was conceived.