The Group C Prototype era was one of the most significant in the history of sports car racing, and also, the excesses of it, led to it's eventual demise. Join me, as we look back at a golden age in sports car racing.
Not exactly Group C, but, Group 4. Not exactly a closed race course, but a hill climb. This car could have also participated in circuit racing, with sports cars, back in the 1970s. Check out a Group 4 De Tomaso Pantera. Filmed, once again, by our buddy 19Bozzy92.
Watch and hear this De Tomaso Pantera Group 4 race car, driven by Giuliano Palmieri, in action on the Bologna-Raticosa hillclimb course during the 2020 edition of that historic race. The car is powered by a modified Ford Cleveland 351 V8 engine able to produce around 500hp and linked to a 5-speed gearbox. The car weight around 1,220 kg. #DeTomaso#DeTomasoPantera#PanteraGr4
From a podcast in Autosport magazine, Thierry Boutsen recalls the most thrilling race he ever competed in which happens to be one highlighted right here on the blog, a couple times. You’ve read about it, and you’ve seen it, maybe. The 1986 running of the Spa Francorchamps 1,000 Kilometers at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes forest of Belgium.
This beauty has been shared before. Sharing again. This is the car that caused the demise of Group C, but, it is so incredibly beautiful, it is irresistible! The Peugeot 905, via 19Bozzy92.
This video is about a fantastic 1992 Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis, chassis EV16, my friend Italiansupercarvideo and I saw and recorded during both the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Dix Mille Tours by Peter Auto at Circuit Paul Ricard. In recent years the car has been restored and prepared for racing by French specialists Equipe Europe, who were so kind and available to let us put a GoPro and a portable recorded (for a better audio quality) to have some footage from the first free practice session of the 2020 Dix Mille Tours with Erik Maris behind the wheel. EV16 finished third at Le Mans 1992, driven by Philippe Alliot, Mauro Baldi and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and it achieved two victories in the World Sportscar Championship at Donington and Magny-Cours rounds, driven by Philippe Alliot and Mauro Baldi.
The next time I’ll have the chance to put my action camera inside a Group C car I should remember to avoid fixing it on the rear bulkhead of the cockpit because in these ‘3-5-litre era’ prototypes the engine creates too many microvibrations (being almost linked to that part of the car) and even the HyperSmooth image stabilizer of the Hero 7 couldn’t do much… I edit this video using mostly the scenes took a couple of weeks ago but also something I recorded in October 2019 (cloudy scenes and some shots of the warm up).
——————————————————————————–
Following the new rules introduced by FIA in order to limit the extreme performance of turbocharged C1 cars built to the original rules, Group C saw the beginning of the “3.5-litre” era. Peugeot seized the opportunity and started working on the new car, called 905. It was unveiled in February 1990 and was developed throughout that year before making its race debut in the final two races of the season.
Peugeot decided to develop a V10 engine, called SA35. Conceptually it was compliant with the Formula 1 regulation of the time and, with little modifications, it was used on the 1994 McLaren MP4/9 F1 but with disappointing results. It was able to produce 620hp for endurance races or 680hp at 12,500 rpm during sprint races. The chassis and aerodynamic were built in collaboration with the French aeronautical company Dassault Aviation.
In the early part of the ’91 season the 905 suffered some performance and reliability problems but, more crucially for Peugeot, the car was a lot slower than the Jaguar XJR-14. It managed to achieve a lucky win in Suzuka but at the 24h of Le Mans both cars entered didn’t finish the race. In the remaining races of the championship a heavily revised 905, was introduced, called Evolution 1 Bis. With the exception of the carbon fiber monocoque chassis, Peugeot made changes to the whole car focusing mainly on aerodynamics. Now a separate wing could be bolted onto the nose for high-downforce tracks. It scored convincing results and wins, finishing second in the championship standings behind Jaguar, but ahead of defending champions Sauber Mercedes.
Peugeot’s main rivals both retired from the World Sportscar Championship, and in 1992 the 905 EV1B became one of only two factory efforts involved alongside the Toyota TS010. In addition, from that year only the new “3.5-litre” Group C cars could race in the WSC so that meant the Porsche 962s and Jaguar XJR-12s, highly used by private teams, were no longer allowed to run, with the exception of the Le Mans race. Peugeot won the 1992 WSC championship and the 24 Hours too (1st and 3rd place).
Before it was announced the cancellation of the 1993 championship, Peugeot had already started developing a new 905, called Evolution 2, but it was never raced. Although there was no World Championship, there was a 24 Hours of Le Mans where Peugeot scored an amazing 1-2-3 victory.
You want more Porsche 935? You’ve got it. Here is a fully restored Porsche 935/76 being track tested after a full restoration. 19Bozzy92 has the video.
Known simply as ‘935’, this was Porsche’s weapon for the 1976 World Championship for Makes in the Group 5 special production/silhouette cars class. In order not to be confused with the following upgraded cars it was renamed 935/76. The car was powered by a 2.85 liter single-turbo flat-6 engine that was able to produce around 590-600hp. A 3.0 liter version was used in the last part of the season and it was capable to produce around 630hp at 1.5 bar of pressure in sprint races trim. 13 customers 935/76 cars were built at the end of 1976 for the 1977 season with an improved intercooler and the option to adopt both the 2.85 and the 3.0 engine version.
For 1977, Porsche further developed the 935. The car, named 935/77, was heavily improved in aerodynamics, with a bodywork capable of generating more downforce without increasing resistance. The engine of this monster was still the 3.0 flat-6 but the single big turbo was replaced by two smaller units to reduce the response delay (turbo lag) without sacrificing the maximum power output. 15 customer examples of the 936/77 were produced too, featuring the twin-turbo engine but with a less improved aero compared to the works cars. They were renamed 935/77A and aesthetically they were nothing less than 935/76 but with a better profiled front, larger side air intakes and side skirts to improve the air flow.
This video is about a customer 935/76 that was freshly restored with its original ’77 Jolly Club colours with whom it was able to achieve a class second place at the 24 Hours of Daytona 1977. The car features the 2.85L, single turbo version of the flat-6 engine but with a body kit taken from the 935/77A customer cars. Watch it in action for its very first laps after the restoration process around Varano Circuit, in Italy, during the 2019 Vernasca Silver Flag track day!
More Group 5 cars, the era that preceded Group C. This is the “Baby” Porsche 935, from 1977, via 19Bozzy92, filmed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Here’s what “Bozzy” had to say about the car. His words. I’m not very satisfied with this video since, unfortunately, the car wasn’t driven in a fast way during last year’s Festival of Speed, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this particular Porsche (plus due to the current times with lack of events…) so I couldn’t help but edit and publish it anyway. If you want to learn something about the so called ‘Baby 935’, I suggest you to check and read this article: https://www.porscheroadandrace.com/po…#Porsche935Baby#935Baby#Porsche935
From 19Bozzy92 on YouTube, more historic Group C racing at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
Back in 2017 I went to Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the Spa Classic weekend by Peter Auto. I noticed in these days that I only uploaded a binaural video of the amazing Group C monsters racing there, but it was lacking of places and spots from where my friends Italiansupercarvideo, NM2255 and I recorded the action during the whole weekend. So here’s the final result with some scenes from the garages, warm up, wet free practices during the first day, some clips at the Eau Rouge-Raidillon corners and the usual raw sounds!
List of the cars in the video:
Cheetah G606 1989 – Cosworth DFR 3.5L V8 (No. 60)
Gebhardt C91 1991 – Cosworth DFV V8 (No. 25)
Intrepid RM-1 GTP 1991 – Chevrolet 7.2 V8 (No. 72)
From 19Bozzy92 on YouTube, footage of a production Group 4 spec Porsche 911 SC, another car that would eventually pave the way for Group C, but, a different animal entirely. Definitely a production racing car, as opposed to a big prototype.
Last Saturday I finally managed to dust off my equipment after almost 4 months for a track day held at the little race track (called ‘La Pista’) of Arese, in Italy. In the past this venue has been Alfa Romeo’s test track built inside their Arese’s plant but after its shutdown in 2005, the track was abandoned. Recently it has been restored to its original function and it’s now used for private events, track days for race, rally and road-legal cars or used to organize safe driving courses. The owner and driver of this Porsche 911 SC Gr. 4 rally car, which features a 934 front bumper, was so kind to allow me to put a GoPro inside the cockpit. But yes, definitely the track is too short for such a car (actually is too short for any car).
From HistroicRacingHD on YouTube, a great retrospective on Group C.
Group C was a truly magnificent era of racing which everyone loves. It gave birth to cars like the Sauber C9, C11, Porsche 962, Lancia LC2, Mazda 787B, Jaguar XJR-9 and so on. It was an era based on speed and power, or so it seemed, and contributed greatly to the introduction of two chicanes on Le Mans’ 7km straight. In 1991, the 24 hours of Le Mans was to be raced for the last time without any chicanes. This was also the year in which the widely beloved Mazda 787B with a 4 rotor engine took victory at the French circuit. Eventually, Group C gradually turned into the GT era of Porsche 911 GT1s and McLaren F1 GTRs, but the legacy Group C left behind is unmatched, as are the cars. In this episode of “From the Archives” we’ll be taking a look at Group C’s most ferocious machines racing as if we’re still living in the 80s. #FromTheArchives#Historicracing#GroupC
The Nimrod NRA/C2 was the Group C car born for the Nimrod Racing Automobiles project, a partnership between racing driver Robin Hamilton and Aston Martin’s chairman Victor Gauntlett, intended to build sports prototypes for the World Endurance Championship and IMSA GT Championship using Aston Martin V8 engines. Although Aston Martin did not own the project, they offered their support for the chance to see success for their name in motorsports, avoiding the high costs of running their own team. Three cars were built in 1982 and raced by both the works and a private team in both Group C and IMSA GTP configurations. In 1983 one of the chassis was upgraded to B-specs, mainly recognizable by a different and revised front to improve aerodynamics.
The NRA/C2 you see in this video is chassis 005 and it was the final car built in 1984, featuring the improved front. It finished 7th overall at the Daytona 24 Hours and then it was fielded in the Le Mans 24h of that year but it didn’t finished due to an accident.
The chassis of the car was built by Lola Cars and it was powered by a Aston Martin production V8 engine, developed for racing by longtime partner Tickford, becoming known as “Development Prototype 1229” (DP1229). It retained the same basic displacement of 5340 cc while being strengthened in order to handle the increased output (520 hp at 7,000 rpm).
Watch it in action during the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed for the Aston Martin 70th anniversary since its first race.
Group C Sports Cars, the thunder of the '80s 