The A-Z of Group C: Every Car Builder, Part Two
Here’s Part 2 of DSC’s four-part run-down of the car builders that contributed to the decade long success of Group C and its junior series in C Junior and C2.
In this second (of four) alphabetical parts we find yet more of the one-offs, but also some of the bigger guns too!
With thanks to the DSC snappers, plus John Brooks and racingsportscars.com contributors John Barrick, Paul Kooymann, Francois Callat, Dan Morgan and Brian Ishenwood
de Cadenet Lola – GB
An early Group C effort with Cosworth power and based on a Lola Chassis, contested Le Mans twice in 1982 and 1983 with no success.
Dome – Japan
With early Cosworth power and a later transition to Toyota motors, Dome produced a series of pretty, pretty quick, but ultimately not entirely competitive offerings, there was some success, including an overall victory in the 1985 Suzuka 500 kms for a turbo 4 Toyota-powered 84C.
Eagle Performance – USA
Another effort with a Lola chassis, this the 1988 Lola T88/10, raced as such in IMSA GTP for a couple of seasons before being obtained by Eagle Performance and renamed the Eagle 700, equipped with an unproven 10.2 litre marine-based V8, the car failed to qualify for Le Mans in 1990!
Ecosse – GB
Hugh McCaig’s Ecurie Ecosse developed the Ecosse C2 car from their original de Cadenet Lola and it proved to be a successful little car. With Ford Cosworth and Rover 6 cylinder power the car had pace and reliability, taking the World Championship in C2 in 1986. The cars continued in national competition in the UK until 1990.
EMKA – GB
Pink Floyd Manager Steve O’Rourke was a Le Mans regular and fielded his own car in 1983 and 1985 at Le Mans with the Michael Cane Racing-built, Aston Martin V8-powered, EMKA’s of 1983 and 1985, the improved car in 1985 actually briefly leading Le Mans and finishing a creditable 11th
Ford – USA
Designed initially as a Group 6 car for 1981 before being redesigned to Group C rules for 1982, the Cosworth-powered Ford C100 was a fast but troublesome tool, redesigned more than once, a great white hope that was abandoned by the factory as a great while whale after unsuccessful efforts in WSC, and at least some success (in the hands of Klus Ludwig) in Germany’s DRM, the project bought and developed by others as privateer efforts.
Gebhardt – Germany
Gebhardt produced a succession of Ford Cosworth and BMW-engined C2 machines and a later C1 level machine that was powered by an Audi turbo 5 cylinder, some good results in C2 were obtained together with some Good results too in DRM and Interseries.
GKW – Italy
Never raced, Porsche powered C2 effort that was displayed in 1988 but never progressed further.
Grid – GB
GR was Guiseppe Ris, ID Was Ian Dawson, and the outfit produced the S1 of 1983 with Cosworth power and the S2 the following year with a Porsche 935 powertrain. Neither car produced much in the way of Group C results though there was a podium in IMSA GTP competition and the S1 was later converted to open-top configuration and had some good results in the UK’s Thundersports Series.
Harrier – GB
The Mazda rotary engined RX83 had a relatively long career in C Junior, C2 and IMSA Lites with one international class win. Subsequent Designs saw service in national and C2-level competition until the late 1980s.
Jaguar – GB
The XJR series of Jaguars C1 cars campaigned from 1983-1993 in both Group C and IMSA GTP forms with the early cars developed by Group 44 in the USA, followed by a switch to Tom Walkinshaw Racing.
That proved to be a successful combination with three World Championship titles going to the cars (in 1987, 1988 and 1991 plus a pair of overall Le Mans wins in 1988 and 1990), the powertrain evolving from the sonorous V12 through Turbo V6 and onto the Cosworth built 3.5 litre V10 that saw the Jaguar Group C story completed with the Ross Brawn and John Piper-designed XJR 14, a mould-breaking design which also provided the basis for Mazda’s final Group C effort and the double Le Mans winning TWR Porsche of 1996 and 1997!
Jiro (JTK – Japan
An in-house development of Dome’s 86C C1 car but re-engined with a Cosworth 3.3 litre motor as a C2 and reduced the 62C, later upgraded as the 63C.
Raced with some success in the All Japan Prototype Championship in 1987 and 1988.
Joest Porsche – Germany
One of two different privateer efforts to develop a Porsche 936 to Group C specification, Joest Racing built a single car in 1982, dubbed the 936C which saw action in the WSC with some good results, some rather better results in DRM and an extraordinary 6th place overall at Le Mans as late as 1986 in the hands of its later owner Ernst Schuster!
Konrad -Austria
The 3.5 litre Lamborghini V12-powered Knrad KM011 was an attempt by Kranz Konrad to move from a customer Porsche base to a stronger link with a manufacturer.
The KM011 was a neat and tidy design which lacked the budget for testing and development at the World Championship level and suffered project delays too.
A part-season in the WSC in 1991 saw no success with Konrad opting to race in Interserie with the car to get more race mileage where the car showed signs of improvement. Time though ran out and a promised 1992 WSC entry never materialised.
Kremer – Germany
The Kremer Brothers took a different route to Group C from many others, initially trying, with a similar but entirely different project from Rivas Joest racing, this hugely modified ex Group 6 Porsche 936 as an option, dubbed the Kremer CK5, the car monstrously fast, but fragile, and no match for the factory-developed 95s as they came on stream, two cars were built and they got some competitive finishes in the therapy yard of the WSC.
Lamborghini – GB
The 1986 Lamborghini Countach QVX was notable for not being either a Lamborghini or a Countach. Instead, it was built on a Spice chassis but powered but the Countach’s mighty V12.
The car was built and developed in the UK but suffered from a major financial shortfall in the project leading to repeated no-shows and only one major international race appearance where it performed creditably if not ultimately competitively.
Lancia – Italy
A successor to the open-topped Group 6 LC1, Lancia’s LC2 saw factory service from 1983 through to 1986 with privately operated LC2s continuing as late as 1991 though with no real success.
The factory Lancia’s though would score a World Championship race victory in each year from 1983-85, the hugely powerful Lancias often dominating qualifying but fading with reliability troubles against the more often than not bulletproof Porsches.