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StarLight Garage presents the unknown Ligier JS1 Ford from 1975. A car originally designed by Pietro Frua and powered by Ford. Ligier gave the car a magic touch and here is he.
Enjoy this beauty!
After a successful career as a rugby player in the French national team, Guy Ligier turned to motor racing. He entered Formula 1 in 1966, but withdrew from active racing two years later after a heavy accident and the fatal crash of his close friend Jo Schlesser. At that time Ligier had already commissioned the construction of a new sportscar to take on Porsche's successful 911. The project was temporarily halted, but when the design team was joined by ex-Renault engineer Michel Tetu early in 1969, it was back on track.
At the Paris Motorshow in September Guy Ligier unveiled the JS1, named after his late friend. Reflecting the political situation, the JS1 was a true European car, with a British engine, French chassis and Italian designed body. Inspired by the Lotus Europa, the new Ligier featured an aluminium backbone chassis, which was suspended by double wishbones front and back. Power came from a mid mounted Cosworth FVA Formula 2 engine, displacing close to 1.6 litre. The package was completed with a Pietro Frua penned fiberglass body.
Guy Ligier competed in a single race in 1969, where he was forced to retire with a broken engine mount. For 1970 the 220 bhp FVA engine was replaced by the slightly larger FVC 'four', good for 240 bhp. Victories were scored in races on Albi and Montlhery. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans Ligier teamed up with Jean Claude Andruet, but the JS1 was forced to retire eight hours in the race with distributor problems. The JS1 had proven to be very quick in qualifying, beating other cars powered by the same engine with a fair margin and claiming a thirteenth qualifying position.
For the 1970 Tour de France, Ligier prepared two JS1s, both powered by a Ford V6 engine. The first car was equipped with a 2.4 litre Weslake prepared engine and the other with the regular 2.6 litre version also found in the Ford Capri. To make room for the bigger engines, the chassis was lengthened considerably. The Hewland gearbox used together with the Cosworth engines did not fit the V6s and was replaced by a Citroën SM derived five-speed transaxle. Both cars failed to finish, having been forced to retire with engine problem.
This was the end of the line for the JS1 after just three cars were constructed. For road use Ligier launched the Maserati engined JS2 exactly a year after the JS1 and for competition use the Cosworth DFV powered JS3 was prepared for 1971.
Specifications
Country of origin: France
Produced from: 1969 - 1970
Numbers built: 3
Introduced at: 1969 Paris Motor Show
Designed by: Pietro Frua
Engine
Configuration Ford 26M 60º V6
Location Mid, longitudinally mounted
Construction cast-iron block and head
Displacement 2.548 liter / 155.5 cu in
Bore / Stroke 90.0 mm (3.5 in) / 66.8 mm (2.6 in)
Compression 9.0:1
Valvetrain 2 valves / cylinder, OHV
Fuel feed Kugelfischer Fuel Injection
Aspiration Naturally Aspirated
Power 215 bhp / 160 KW
BHP/Liter 84 bhp / liter
Drivetrain
Body fibreglass
Chassis backbone constructed from polyurethane foam in an aluminium sandwich
Suspension (fr/r) double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Steering rack-and-pinion
Brakes discs, all-round
Gearbox Citroën 5 speed Manual
Drive Rear wheel drive
Dimensions
Weight 740 kilo / 1631.4 lbs
Length / Width / Height 3900 mm (153.5 in) / 1700 mm (66.9 in) / 1060 mm (41.7 in)
Performance figures
Power to weight 0.29 bhp / kg
Top Speed 260 km/h (162 mph)
THE OTHER LIGIER IS HERE:
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