French Connection

Why, Jo Schlesser asked his friend Guy Ligier at the end of the 1960s, don’t we just build our own car? Schlesser, a reasonably successful racing driver, was just as dissatisfied as Guy Ligier with the vehicles available to them in endurance races – or they were simply too expensive for them, such as the Ford GT40, in which they had competed together in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1967 (they retired in 6th place after 13 hours). Guy Ligier, a trained butcher, former track and field athlete, rower and rugby player, had only begun his serious racing career at the age of 34. With Schlesser, he won the 12 Hours of Reims and, in 1967, a point in the Formula 1 World Championship with a sixth place at the British Grand Prix. On the side, he also built up a very successful construction business, and by the age of 31 he already had more than 1,000 employees. So there was spending money, the two Frenchmen also had excellent connections and racing experience, so the first Ligier soon took shape. Unfortunately Jo Schlesser was killed in an accident in 1968 at the French Grand Prix in Rouen in a Honda – John Surtess had refused to drive this car (RA302), calling it a death trap. Guy Ligier named all his cars JS in honour of his good friend.

The JS1 from Automobiles Ligier was presented in September 1969 (pictured above). It was an interesting construction by Michel Tetu: a tubular frame, a mid-mounted engine, independent wheel suspension – all were a matter of course. The design for the GRP body came from Pietro Frua. At first, a 1.6-litre Cosworth engine was installed, which produced 220 hp, making the Ligier, which weighed just 800 kilograms, quite cheerful. Nevertheless, only three prototypes were built, which were also used as racing cars, because work on the JS2 was already underway. Ligier had bigger plans: 500 units were to be built so that the car could be homologated for the GT class. While the JS1 was intended only for the racetrack, the JS2 had to be taught a little more manners. Ligier demanded a better forward view, a boot and larger doors from Tetu and Frua. When the JS2 was presented at the 1970 Paris Motor Show, it had a 2.6-litre Ford engine. However, this was only for a short time, because Ford wanted to bring a very similar vehicle onto the market with the GT70 and very soon stopped supplying the engines.

But Guy Ligier had excellent connections. Raymond Ravenel, then head of Citroën, allowed him to use the 2.7-litre V6 from the Citroën SM for the JS2. Some adjustments had to be made for this, the vehicle became 5 centimetres longer (4.25 metres x 1.72 metres x 1.15 metres, probably less than 1000 kilos), and production finally started in 1972. In 1973, the 3-litre engine was available, as it was also used in the Maserati Merak. The JS2s could also be bought and serviced at Citroën dealerships; at the end of the year, SM production was outsourced to the Ligier factory in Abrest. The Ligier was revised again for 1974, but in the meantime the oil crisis had hit, Citroën was taken over by Peugeot and Maserati by DeTomaso, and so the JS2’s final hour had come after probably 225 units had been built.

Well, almost. Because there were always the racing versions, too. They were even reasonably successful: in 1972, Larousse/Chasseuil won 14 of 17 stages of the Tour de France, only to drop out shortly before the finish. But in 1974, there was a one-two finish in the Tour de France – and an 8th place finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And in 1975, Lafosse/Chasseuil achieved a surprising second place in Le Mans, after having had chances for victory for a long time; it may have been due to the fact that the Maserati engine had to make way for a Cosworth DFV for this race. But by that time, Guy Ligier, who was considered to have a rather violent temper, had long since concentrated on a new project, Formula One.

–

There are not that many of these Ligier JS2s, so they rarely come on the market. But here it is: VIN 24767203, Bonhams, Paris 2025, estimated price 60,000 to 90,000 euros.

We have plenty of other exotic cars in our archive.