Ligier is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier in 1968.

The firm entered the automobile business with the Ligier JS2, a mid-engined sports car for the road initially powered by a Ford V6 and from 1971 by the same Maserati V6 engine as the Citroën SM.  The final SMs were also produced in the Ligier factory in Vichy. The 1973 energy crisis caused such a decline in the market for the JS2 that production ceased soon after, and the firm changed its focus to microcars.

Ligier is best known for its Formula One team, Équipe Ligier, that operated from 1976 to 1996. Ligier entered Formula One in 1976 with a Matra V12-powered car, winning its first Grand Prix with Jacques Laffite in 1977.

Ligier also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1970 to 1975.

 

Headquaters: Abrest, France

js39 1993-1994

The Ligier JS39 was a Formula One car used by the Ligier team during the 1993 and 1994 Formula One seasons.

The engine was the Renault RS5 3.5 V10.

The number 25 chassis was driven by experienced Briton Martin Brundle and the number 26 driven by Mark Blundell. The team did not employ a test driver. The main sponsor was French tobacco company Gitanes. The team used a semi-automatic gearbox for the first time, but retained passive suspension. The car was relatively successful for the team, achieving 3 podium finishes, and 23 constructor points.

For 1994, the car was upgraded to 'B' specification. The number 26 seat was occupied by Olivier Panis for the whole year, however, the number 25 seat was taken by Éric Bernard, Johnny Herbert and Franck Lagorce. The team's test driver was Lagorce. The engine was a Renault RS6 3.5 V10. The team's main sponsor was again Gitanes. The car did not perform as well as in 1993 but was reliable, enabling Panis and Bernard to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively in the German Grand Prix. The team scored only two other points finishes for the rest of the season.

The JS39B was also tested by Michael Schumacher at Estoril in early 1994, at the request of Flavio Briatore, who became the owner of the Ligier team, after the team was purchased by Tom Walkinshaw and Briatore in 1994.

Ligier JS39 (youtube.com)

js19 1982

The Ligier JS19 was a Formula One racing car manufactured and raced by Équipe Ligier during the 1982 Formula One season. Powered by a Talbot-badged Matra V12 engine, the JS19 was driven by Jacques Laffite and Eddie Cheever.

The JS19 was designed by Michel Beaujon under the technical direction of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, who had retired as a driver from Formula One the previous year. 

It was provided with a Matra MS81 V-12 badged as a Talbot. The chassis had side pods which enclosed the rear suspension linkage, which minimised disruption to the air flow, and had skirts running their full length for maximum ground-effect. However, when introduced for its first race, the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix, the team was forced by race officials to remove the portion of the skirts behind the rear-wheel centreline (a subjective interpretation of the rules not clarified in written bulletins), which resulted in a loss of downforce that affected the cars' performance.

The team used the JS17B, with which it had started the first five races of the season, for the following races in the United States and Canada while the aerodynamics of the JS19 were reworked in wind tunnel testing. A single JS19 was present for the Dutch and British races while the other was in the wind tunnel. Two cars were present from the French Grand Prix onwards.

Ligier finished the year with 20 points, nine of which were scored with the JS19, for eighth in the Constructor's Championship.

Ligier JS19 1982 (youtube.com)

1968-1976

1976-1998

1998-2017

2017-now

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