All eras of endurance sports car racing have had their mystique and aura, but in more recent memory, few eras have been remembered as fondly as that of the Group C era that lasted in Europe from 1982-’89, and in the United States as IMSA Grand Touring Prototype from 1981-’93. This blog, is going to share many of the memories of the Group C era, primarily races in Europe, and the great drivers and teams that competed, as well as referencing some further reading on the subject should readers wish to check out more. The driver’s cars, and teams of Group C, raced for 6 or 24 hours depending on the races (mostly, the distances were set at 1,000 Kilometers), and there was action on track, even before 1982 when the Group C cars came into existence.
Group C, stands for consumption. Fuel consumption was the name of the game with these futuristic, high tech prototypes that replaced the equally astounding cars of a three class Formula from the 1970s, that included Groups 4, 5, and 6, which were either production based GT cars, or prototype sports cars under or over 2000cc in engine displacement. So, come with me, on a journey, as we explore, Group C, the Thunder of the ’80s.
Group C Sports Cars, the thunder of the '80s 