The Ligier JS1 is a sports-racing car that debuted in 1969 and was built by Automobiles Ligier. The car competed in various sportscar racing events during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
Guy Ligier was a French former athlete and successful businessman who began to pursue a career as a professional racing driver at 34 years of age.[4] Ligier enjoyed many successes when partnered with fellow countryman Jo Schlesser driving Ford GT40s. The two men became friends and eventually went into business together, launching their own team, Ecurie InterSport. Ongoing mechanical problems with the various cars they drove moved Schlesser to ask Ligier "What if we did our own cars?"[5]
The question would not be answered before Schlesser's untimely death in practice at what was to have been his Formula 1 debut at the French Grand Prix in 1968. Following Schlesser's demise, Ligier retired from racing to pursue the production of his own sports-racing cars.
Ligier founded Automobiles Ligier in 1968, and in 1969 hired engineer/designer Michel Têtu, who had previously worked for Charles Deutsch, to design the cars.[6] The JS1 was the first product of the new company, and was named in honour of Jo Schlesser.
The JS1 was officially unveiled in September 1969 at the Salon de l'Auto in Paris.[2]
Technical detailsEdit
The JS1 was a two-door fixed-head mid-engined coupé. The body was designed by Pietro Frua and executed in fibreglass, but Ligier had considerable input into the details of his first car. His requirements that the car be light and compact but with good forward visibility from the cabin resulted in the JS1 having a large cockpit and big, sloping windshield.[4]
Têtu's chassis was similar in principle to the contemporary Lotus Europa and Alpine A110, being a central backbone with additional structures front and rear to accommodate suspension and engine. Steel had been considered for use in the chassis but in the end Têtu employed a polyurethane Klegecell core sandwiched between aluminum panels.[7]
The suspension used wishbones with coilover-damper units on all corners. The brakes were discs on all four wheels. Steering was by rack-and-pinion.[7]
The first engine used in the car was a 1598 cc Cosworth FVA producing 220 bhp. Power went to the wheels through a 5-speed Hewland transaxle.[8]
RacingEdit
Guy Ligier drove the JS1 in its 1969 debut race at the Critérium des Cévennes but retired due to a failed engine mount.[7]
The next year the FVA engine was replaced by a 1790 cc Cosworth FVC that developed approximately 240 hp.[8]
1970 brought wins at Albi and Montlhéry. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans Ligier's driving partner was Jean-Claude Andruet. The car ran in the Prototype class. [9] The pair qualified in 13th place and were among the first ten in the overall ranking when they were forced to retire after eight hours with a distributor problem.
For the Tour Auto Ligier entered a two-car team with both cars having different versions of the Ford Cologne V6. One car received a 2637 cc 2.6 RS engine from the Ford Capri RS2600, while the second car received a 2397 cc V6 with Weslake alloy cylinder heads. Extensive changes were made to the chassis to fit the new engines, and the Hewland transaxle used with the Cosworth engines gave way to a new 5-speed unit from the Citroën SM.[7] Both cars retired.
Only three JS1s were ever built. Work began on its successor, the JS2, as early as 1970. The only known surviving JS1, chassis 002, has been fully restored and has appeared at various historical racing events since 2004.[10][11]
^ abcd"Modèles à la Une : la Ligier JS1". newsdanciennes.com. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
^ ab. ligiercars.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22.
^"Ligier JS2: l'hommage à Jo". boitierrouge.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
^"La Ligier JS1 exposée à Rétromobile". www.motorlegend.com. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
^"Ligier JS1 Ford Chassis: JS1-002". www.ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
See alsoEdit
October 21, 2023
ligier, sports, racing, that, debuted, 1969, built, automobiles, ligier, competed, various, sportscar, racing, events, during, 1969, 1970, seasons, categoryprototypeconstructorautomobiles, ligierdesigner, michel, têtupredecessornonesuccessorligier, js2technica. The Ligier JS1 is a sports racing car that debuted in 1969 and was built by Automobiles Ligier The car competed in various sportscar racing events during the 1969 and 1970 seasons Ligier JS1CategoryPrototypeConstructorAutomobiles LigierDesigner s Michel TetuPredecessorNoneSuccessorLigier JS2Technical specifications 1 Chassisaluminum polyurethane backboneSuspension front upper and lower wishbones coilover dampers disc brakes Suspension rear upper and lower wishbones coilover dampers disc brakes Length3 950 mm 155 5 in 2 Width1 680 mm 66 1 in 2 Height1 110 mm 43 7 in 2 Axle track1 380 mm 54 3 in 2 1 360 mm 53 5 in 2 Wheelbase2 300 mm 90 6 in 2 Engine1 598 cc 97 5 cu in Cosworth FVA1 790 cc 109 2 cu in Cosworth FVC2 397 cc 146 3 cu in Ford Weslake V62 637 cc 160 9 cu in Ford RS2 6 V6TransmissionHewlandCitroen SM 5 speedWeight790 kg 1 741 7 lb 1 BrakesDisc discCompetition historyNotable driversGuy LigierJean Claude AndruetDebut1969 Criterium des CevennesFirst winAlbi 1970 3 Last win1970 Coupes de Vitesse 3 Last event1970 Tour de France 3 EntriesRacesWins10 3 8 3 2 3 Contents 1 Background 2 Technical details 3 Racing 4 References 5 See alsoBackground EditGuy Ligier was a French former athlete and successful businessman who began to pursue a career as a professional racing driver at 34 years of age 4 Ligier enjoyed many successes when partnered with fellow countryman Jo Schlesser driving Ford GT40s The two men became friends and eventually went into business together launching their own team Ecurie InterSport Ongoing mechanical problems with the various cars they drove moved Schlesser to ask Ligier What if we did our own cars 5 The question would not be answered before Schlesser s untimely death in practice at what was to have been his Formula 1 debut at the French Grand Prix in 1968 Following Schlesser s demise Ligier retired from racing to pursue the production of his own sports racing cars Ligier founded Automobiles Ligier in 1968 and in 1969 hired engineer designer Michel Tetu who had previously worked for Charles Deutsch to design the cars 6 The JS1 was the first product of the new company and was named in honour of Jo Schlesser The JS1 was officially unveiled in September 1969 at the Salon de l Auto in Paris 2 Technical details EditThe JS1 was a two door fixed head mid engined coupe The body was designed by Pietro Frua and executed in fibreglass but Ligier had considerable input into the details of his first car His requirements that the car be light and compact but with good forward visibility from the cabin resulted in the JS1 having a large cockpit and big sloping windshield 4 Tetu s chassis was similar in principle to the contemporary Lotus Europa and Alpine A110 being a central backbone with additional structures front and rear to accommodate suspension and engine Steel had been considered for use in the chassis but in the end Tetu employed a polyurethane Klegecell core sandwiched between aluminum panels 7 The suspension used wishbones with coilover damper units on all corners The brakes were discs on all four wheels Steering was by rack and pinion 7 The first engine used in the car was a 1598 cc Cosworth FVA producing 220 bhp Power went to the wheels through a 5 speed Hewland transaxle 8 Racing EditGuy Ligier drove the JS1 in its 1969 debut race at the Criterium des Cevennes but retired due to a failed engine mount 7 The next year the FVA engine was replaced by a 1790 cc Cosworth FVC that developed approximately 240 hp 8 1970 brought wins at Albi and Montlhery For the 24 Hours of Le Mans Ligier s driving partner was Jean Claude Andruet The car ran in the Prototype class 9 The pair qualified in 13th place and were among the first ten in the overall ranking when they were forced to retire after eight hours with a distributor problem For the Tour Auto Ligier entered a two car team with both cars having different versions of the Ford Cologne V6 One car received a 2637 cc 2 6 RS engine from the Ford Capri RS2600 while the second car received a 2397 cc V6 with Weslake alloy cylinder heads Extensive changes were made to the chassis to fit the new engines and the Hewland transaxle used with the Cosworth engines gave way to a new 5 speed unit from the Citroen SM 7 Both cars retired Only three JS1s were ever built Work began on its successor the JS2 as early as 1970 The only known surviving JS1 chassis 002 has been fully restored and has appeared at various historical racing events since 2004 10 11 References Edit a b Ligier JS1 1970 auta5p eu Retrieved 2016 12 11 a b c d e f g Teissedre Jean Marc 2014 Ligier Prototypes amp GT 1969 1975 et 2014 Ligier Prototypes amp GT 1969 1975 and 2014 in French 1st ed a b c d e f Ligier JS1 www racingsportscars com Retrieved 2016 12 08 a b Guy Ligier s Biography old classic days fr Archived from the original on 2017 08 25 Retrieved 2016 12 01 Guy Ligier le costaud de Vichyo www caradisiac com Retrieved 2016 12 09 Ligier JS1 Ford www ultimatecarpages com Retrieved 2016 12 10 a b c d Modeles a la Une la Ligier JS1 newsdanciennes com 24 July 2015 Retrieved 2016 12 09 a b Ligier JS1 ligiercars com Archived from the original on 2016 03 22 Ligier JS2 l hommage a Jo boitierrouge com Retrieved 2016 12 01 La Ligier JS1 exposee a Retromobile www motorlegend com Retrieved 2016 12 10 Ligier JS1 Ford Chassis JS1 002 www ultimatecarpage com Retrieved 2016 12 10 See also Edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ligier JS1 amp oldid 1159304974, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
