6 Awesome Race Cars from the Group C Era

This month, I will be covering six of the greatest cars from the Group C race series, which ran for over a decade with major successes. Some of these race cars also won at Le Mans!

Credit: wheelsage.org

Credit: wheelsage.org

Jaguar XJR-9

The legendary XJR-9 was built as a sports prototype for both Group C and the IMSA Camel GTP series as an evolution of the mildly successful XJR-8. The engine was the same seven litre V12, producing 750 horsepower. With a weight of just 880 kilograms, this Jaaaaaaaag could reach 245 miles per hour.

With a successful debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1988 - and a third place in IMSA the same year - Jaguar focused their efforts on winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans. In qualifying, the Porsche 962C prevailed, but with race configuration turbo boost lowering the 962's power, Jaguar took the victory.

Credit: goodwood.com

Credit: goodwood.com

Mazda 787B

Mazda's Group C efforts had vastly improved over the years, with their advanced rotary-powered 787 becoming a massive success at Le Mans. Before the 787B, Mazda entered the 787 into competition with limited success. They ran reliably in the race before heat from the engine overcame the strength of both cars.

However, they were not finished yet. Mazda developed a new intake system for the engine. Since the Wankel engine was thirsty and usually unreliable, they also lowered the rev limit to 8,500rpm. And so, in 1991, the 787B was able to take the victory - a first for a Japanese marque, and the last win for a Wankel-engined car.

Credit: wsupercars.org

Credit: wsupercars.org

Peugeot 905

In 1988, Peugeot began to prepare for endurance racing and unveiled their new race car, the 905, in 1990. A naturally aspirated 3.5 litre V10 gave the advanced Peugeot 905 a total of 641 horsepower, and a carbon fibre monocoque chassis kept weight at 780 kilograms. Its first full season was 1991, where the Peugeot secured second place.

There were only five entrants in the C1 class next year, but the 1992 World Sportscar Championship (WSCC) was dominated by the 905B, which also won at Le Mans the same year. The WSCC was cancelled in 1993, but Le Mans went on, leaving Peugeot to take their final major victory with the 905B.

Credit: wheelsage.org

Credit: wheelsage.org

Porsche 956 and 962

Replacing the successful Porsche 936 from Group 6 was the new 956, built to comply with the new Group C regulations. It used the same engine - a 2.65 litre turbocharged flat-six producing 635 horsepower, and continued the 936's legacy with three wins at Le Mans 24H and 3 wins at the WSCC, both between 1982 and 1985.

In 1985, Porsche developed the 962 with a lengthened wheelbase and a larger engine. The result was a 3 litre twin-turbo flat-six engine producing 780 horsepower. The Porsche 962 claimed the title in 1985 along with the 956 and in 1986 on its own and won Le Mans twice, in 1986 and 1987. A huge success, once again.

Credit: 95customs.com

Credit: 95customs.com

Sauber C9

Sauber's new C9 would be the beginning of their Group C dominance. With Mercedes-Benz to back them up, the C9 would now have their twin-turbocharged 5 litre V8, producing 720 horsepower. In 1987, Sauber only got to 12th place overall, so Mercedes gave them their full support for the following years.

The engine was upgraded, with an extra 100 horsepower proving to make a huge difference. Second place overall in 1988 - behind Jaguar's XJR-9 - was a great improvement, and then Sauber-Mercedes came in first place for 1989 afterwards. It was also very fast, but still very reliable, managing to win Le Mans the same year.

Credit: jalopnik.com

Credit: jalopnik.com

Toyota TS010

Rule changes for the 1992 WSCC meant that Toyota's 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V8 could not be used. Therefore, they developed the TS010 with a naturally aspirated 3.5 litre V10 producing 600 horsepower, 200 less than the 90C-V that preceded it. However, less power meant more reliability, and, as it was almost 200 kilograms lighter, it was just as fast as before.

The whole chassis had to be redesigned to handle the V10 and be much lighter. Peugeot was dominating both the WSCC and Le Mans, but in 1992, the Toyota TS010 managed to place second in both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championship and therefore proved its worth against the 905's might.