Description:

Advert Title: Tiga GC287 Group C2 ex-Le Mans historic racecar

Item Location: San Marino

Short Description: Genuine ex-Le Mans 24 hours (1987) Group C2 prototype, fully restored/race ready. HTP through 2035

Key Word: Group C2, Group C, Historic race car, Le Mans, Buick, Tiga, Peter Auto, prototype

Price: 300,000 Euros

Youtube video: https://youtu.be/gayu9mT3sOQ

Detailed Description: A genuine ex-Le Mans 24 Hours (1987) TIGA GC287 Group C2 sports prototype, chassis#350. Fully restored, race-ready, and actively competitive in the current Peter Auto Group C series, with class podiums in 2024 and 2025.

- HTP recently approved and valid through 2035 - no paperwork risk for the next decade of historic racing. Offered with spares package.

• Genuine Le Mans 24 Hours starter (1987), later raced at Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Hours

• Buick V6 engine: low-cost, low-maintenance, proven reliable in period and today.  The Buick V6 was recently rebuilt by specialist shop Ellegi Motori and delivers a strong torque reserve, with the car recorded at 294 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight. Both engine and gearbox have been reviewed this year.

• Multiple class podiums, Peter Auto Group C series, 2024-2025 (P1 x2 at Spa Classic 2024, P3/P4 Paul Ricard 2024, P2/P3 Barcelona 2025)

• Fresh fuel cell (certified to 2029), current fire system (certified to 2033), modern data acquisition (AIM display, DTA engine management with telemetry download, onboard camera)

• Eligible for Le Mans Classic, Peter Auto Group C Racing series, Masters Historic, and other major Group C grids worldwide

Chassis #350 was built in early 1987 for the World Sports Car Championship, entered by Dune Motorsport and prepared by McNeil Racing, to be co-driven by Duncan Bain and Neil Craig. The car debuted at a Silverstone shakedown in May 1987 ahead of that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At Le Mans, the car ran consistently inside the top ten and was as high as eighth place with two hours remaining when the crankshaft failed in its original 3-litre Rover-Buick 6R4 V6.  Seven Tiga chassis started Le Mans that year across a range of engine configurations — Rover-Buick V6, twin-turbo Volvo four-cylinder, Ford BDT-E turbo, Porsche 956 turbo, and Cosworth-Ford DFL V8 — making this a well-documented and historically significant grid entry.

Following the Le Mans retirement, the car was fitted with a 3.3-litre Cosworth-Ford DFL V8 for the remainder of the 1987 season. In 1988 it passed to Robbie Stirling and Ross Hyett for Group C2 endurance racing. In 1989 the car was exported to the United States without its Cosworth engine and was fitted with a Buick V6 for IMSA GTP competition, where it was campaigned by Sydney “Buzzy” Smith of Orlando, Florida — including appearances at Sebring and Daytona. Ownership passed through Hi Tech Performance (Painesville, Ohio, 1997) and David Paul (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1998) before the car was repatriated to the UK in 2005 by Richard Chester.

Since then, chassis #350 has raced every year in Group C historic events, prepared by RCP Motorsport under the technical supervision of Nick Chester — Head of the Performance Group at the Renault F1 team. The car was acquired by its current ownership group in 2023 and underwent a complete restoration by GDL Racing.

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