Ligier JS2

Guy Ligier and racing teammate, business partner and close friend Jo Schlesser talked about together building a car that overcame the shortcomings of the cars they were driving. Following Schlesser's death Ligier retired from racing and established Automobiles Ligier in 1968. The JS2 was the company's second product, the first having been the JS1. That car was built on an aluminum chassis designed by Chief Engineer Michel Têtu with fibreglass bodywork by Frua. Four different engines were used at different times - two versions of the Cosworth FVA DOHC inline four-cylinder engine and two versions of the Ford Cologne OHV V6 engine. The Cosworths were mated to Hewland transaxles while the Fords were bolted to a modified transaxle from the Citroën SM. Due to there only ever being three JS1s built it was limited to racing in the Prototype class. == History and features ==

To qualify to race in the GT class, 500 copies of a car had to have been built. Ligier's plan was to reach that goal with the JS2. The letters in the name of the car, like the JS1 before it, are a tribute to Schlesser. His requirement that it also be practical necessitated wide doors for ease of access and a usable trunk. The road-car was built on a backbone chassis made of a layer of polyurethane foam sandwiched between sheets of steel. Braking was by power-assisted discs. Anti-roll bars were mounted front and rear. A deal was struck with Raymond Ravenel, managing director of Citroën, to use the Maserati C114 V6 from the SM in the JS2. 80 cars were built this year. Control of the company eventually passed to De Tomaso, who would end production of the C114 V6, leaving Ligier without an engine for the JS2 and bringing production of the road-going model to an end. == Motorsports ==

The racing version of the JS2, like the JS1, used a chassis made of aluminum instead of steel. There was one win at Rally of Bayonne, with a car driven by Jean-François Piot. JS2s ran in most of the World Championship races but with only limited success. Jacques Lafitte and Alain Serpaggi managed an eight place finish at the Le Mans 24 hour race. The Tour de France race at the season's end was the year's high point - JS2s finished first and second. • 1975 - The team was sponsored by Gitanes. This would be their best showing at the Le Mans 24 hour race and also the last outing for the JS2 in competition; Ligier's attention had turned to Formula One. ==References==