Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (also known as AGS and Gonfaron Sports Cars) was a small French racecar constructor, founded by the French mechanic, Henri Julien,  in Gonfaron, a provincial French village.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Henri Julien regularly attended racing events in minor classes. Although not an outstanding driver, the technical knowledge he gained eventually prompted him to start constructing racing cars. Julien's first car, the AGS JH1, saw the light of day in 1969. It was a small single-seater, intended for the category of "Formule France". The car was designed by Julien's former apprentice, the Belgian mechanic Christian Vanderpleyn.

In 1991 a new car, the JH27, was raced in the early autumn, but by then the team was in rags again, so the Italians closed the doors after the 1991 Spanish Grand Prix.

 

Headquartered Gonfaron, France, 1969-1991

jh22

The AGS JH22 was a Formula One racing car designed by Christian Vanderpleyn and used by the French AGS team in the 1987 Formula One season.

The JH22 was noted as a development of the Renault-based JH21C that the team had used in two races towards the end of 1986. However, while the JH21C had been fitted with a Motori Moderni turbocharged engine and Pirelli tyres, the JH22 was fitted with a normally-aspirated Ford-Cosworth DFZ V8 engine and Goodyear tyres. It also carried a 1970s-style airbox aft of the fuel tank, although this was replaced with a smaller and more conventional air intake as the season progressed.

As in 1986, AGS chose to enter one car for the season, and so built only two chassis, labeled #32 and #33. Italian shoe and clothing company El Charro continued as the team's main sponsor, and so the car, numbered 14, was painted in a white and red livery with a large rose above the nosecone. Frenchman Pascal Fabre, who had driven for the team in Formula Two in 1982, was signed to drive.

As one of four teams running normally-aspirated engines at the start of the season (the others being Tyrrell, the returning March and newcomers Larrousse), AGS contested the one-off Colin Chapman Trophy in addition to the regular Constructors' Championship, while Fabre contested the drivers' equivalent, the Jim Clark Trophy.

The JH22 was slow from the outset, and Fabre usually qualified last, at least a second slower than the car immediately in front. However, the car proved reliable on race day, as the Frenchman was classified in eight of the first nine races (albeit at least five laps down in each), his best results being 9th on home soil in France and in Britain.

For 1988, the JH22 was replaced with the JH23. One of the two chassis remains in AGS's historic collection, while the other is on display at the Manoir de l'Automobile in the commune of Lohéac, Brittany.

1987

pascal fabre

jh22  cosworth dfz, 3.494 cc  90° V8, na mid-engine

autodromo dino ferrari

AGS JH22 1987 (youtube.com)

jh25b

The AGS JH25B was a Formula One car designed by Michel Costa for use in the 1991 Formula one season by the French AGS team. It was powered by the 3.5-litre Ford DFR V8. The car was driven by Italian drivers Gabriele Tarquini, Fabrizio Barbazza, and Swedish driver Stefan Johansson.

This car is identical to the AGS JH25 except for its name, designating the fact that this car competed in 1991, contrary to the JH25 competing in the 1990 F1 season. AGS opted to run this car as finacial difficulties rendered it impossible to continue with the design of the JHS26.

The AGS JH25B's best – and only – result was 8th place by Tarquini at the United States Grand Prix. The car was unable to qualify for many of the 1991 races, and on the rare occasion it qualified, was retired from the race. The JH25 was used only in the first 12 races of the season before swithing to the AGS JH27

Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives was experiencing financial problems and the team was not able to upgrade the car further. The car got slower and slower as spare parts were used up. The team was sold to Italian businessmen Patrizio Cantù and Gabriele Raffanelli, and from the Italian Grand Prix, the JH25B was replaced by the JH27. The new chassis was considered worse than the JH25B, and three races later, AGS closed down.

 

fabrizio barbazza

1991

ford cosworth dfr 3493 cc V8, NA

hockenheimring

AGS JH25B 1991

1969-1991

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