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Ligier
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Ligier is a French automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier.
firm entered the automobile business with the Ligier JS2, a central-engined sports car for the road powered by the same Maserati V6 engine as the Citroën SM. The Maserati V6 engine had a modern design and the JS2 was considered by many as a well designed car with a very good power-to-weight ratio. The final SMs were also produced in the Ligier factory in Vichy.
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Ligier is a French automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier.
History
The firm entered the automobile business with the Ligier JS2, a central-engined sports car for the road powered by the same Maserati V6 engine as the Citroën SM. The Maserati V6 engine had a modern design and the JS2 was considered by many as a well designed car with a very good power-to-weight ratio. 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, for example, 1984 moped-powered Ligier JS6.
In September 2008, Ligier Automobiles completed its acquisition of Beneteau Group's Microcar division, with financing provided by 21 Investimenti Partners. Phillipe Ligier, son of the company's founder, remains as CEO. The Ligier and Microcar brands are to retain their separate identities and manufacturing facilities. The merger creates Europe's second largest microcar manufacturer (after Daimler's Smart unit), and largest manufacturer of drivers license-exempt vehicles.
Models
The Ligier model line currently consists of the X-Too line of mini cars, the X-Pro line of small commercial vehicles, and the Be Up/Be Two line of open air, roadster-type vehicles. The company also produces a line of quad bikes and off-road utility vehicles sold as the Be Pro, Be Four, and Be Truck.
Ligier F1
Ligier is best known for its Formula One team that operated from to . Ligier entered Formula One in with a Matra V12-powered car, and won a Grand Prix with Jacques Laffite in . This is generally considered to have been the first all-French victory in the Formula One World Championship.
The deal with Matra ceased in 1979 and Ligier built a Cosworth-powered wing-car, the Ligier JS11. The JS11 begin the season winning the first 2 races in the hands of Laffite. However, the JS11 faced serious competition when Williams and Ferrari introduced aerodynamically modified cars. The rest of the season was less successful for the French marque.
The JS11 and its successors made Ligier one of the top teams through the early 1980s. Despite substantial sponsorship from Talbot and public French companies - mainly SEITA and Française des Jeux (deals which François Mitterrand helped to put in place) - the competitiveness of the team began to decline around . In the mid 1980s, the team benefitted from a "free" Renault turbo engine deal. This made them more competitive, though not a frontrunner, despite sponsorship from companies such as Gitanes, Loto and elf. When Renault left the sport in 1986, Ligier was left without a bona fide engine supplier. An abortive collaboration with Alfa Romeo was followed by customer engine deals with Megatron (who provided them with rebadged BMW M12 engines), Judd and Cosworth and then works contracts with Lamborghini, Renault and Mugen-Honda.
In the last years Ligier had little public support and lacked funds. Surprisingly, the team was somewhat more competitive during this period, perhaps due to the talents of aerodynamicist Frank Dernie, whose skills had developed the Williams of Alan Jones that so regularly beat the Ligiers in the late 1970s.
The talent of the young engineer Loïc Bigois may have played some role as well. But this also brings some to think that, in previous years, Guy Ligier was more worried about making money than restoring the team competitiveness. Famous for his histrionics and boisterous pitlane explosions, the recalcitrant Guy Ligier added greatly to the character of Formula One events from the mid 1970s onward, if not through the competitiveness of his teams. As one F1 commentator famously said, "You always had the feeling that even when they were winning they didn't know why...". Certainly the team enjoyed an upswing when Guy Ligier sold the team to Cyril de Rouvre after a disappointing 1992 season when they once again failed to fulfil their potential despite being supplied with the same works Renault engines as the dominant Williams team - they scored eight podium finishes over the next four years, contrasting sharply with their failure to secure a single top three position between and .
In , the Mugen Honda-powered JS43 turned out to be a well balanced car, if not on par with the Williams entries. It became a surprise winner as well, with the team taking the chequered flag with Olivier Panis at the Monaco Grand Prix, albeit in a race of heavy attrition. While the victory was a famous moment for French Motorsport (the first "all-French" victory at Monaco since René Dreyfus in Bugatti in 1930), it must be said it came very much against the run of play in a race in which only four cars finished the full distance.
The team was sold to Alain Prost soon after and became Prost Grand Prix in . Prost GP, despite substantial financial backing by large private French companies failed to make the team competitive and went bankrupt in .
The team traditionally used numbers 25 and 26.
Complete World Championship Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
Gallery
Ligier JS49 (2005)
In 2005, Ligier returned to sports cars with a "gentlemen driver" car, the , a sport prototype made for the 2000 cc CN class.
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