Top 10: Group C Prototypes

Group C was the Group B of the sportscar era, but without the fiery ending. Running between 1982 and 1992, the group, just like B, was the top of its kind, produced brilliant racing with the best of the best, and died due to technical regulations, although not before the final season produced the best of the cars that were ever seen.

10. Corvette GTP

Starting off is effectively the 1985 version of the modern Corvette Daytona Prototype. The Eagle Corvette competed in the USA GTP series (just like the next car on this list) for teams like Hendrick Motorsport and Eagle Racing. It won at Road Atlanta in 1985 and Palm Beach in 1986. The main Corvette was retired in 1989 but continued for two more years as the Eagle 700.

9. Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo

The Nissan competed for six years in GTP, from 1985 to being replaced at the end of 1990. After three long years of development, yielding one win, the Nissan went on a winning spree in 1988, winning nine of the 14 races. However, the team skipped Sebring and Daytona (the two first and longest races on the calendar) and this, while it did not cost Geoff Brabham the drivers' championship, cost Nissan the teams championship to Porsche. In 1989, the car was entered for Daytona and Sebring and both cars finished at Sebring (neither finished at Daytona, partially vilifying the reputation of it being unreliable). Nissan and Geoff Brabham won both championships and the car was retired after taking another championship pairing in 1990.

8. Toyota 90CV

The 90C-V was one of a family of evolutionary rather than revolutionary Toyota prototypes. The car wasn't particularily brilliant, finishing well in the Japanese Sports Car Championship but only finishing twice in the top 10 in the WSC: 4th at Suzuka and 6th at Le Mans for the #36, the only of the three entered cars to finish.

7. Nissan R90

The Nissan R90CK and R90CP (and '91' and '92' evolutions in Japan), not related to the R90 (successor to the GTP ZX) from GTP, competed in the WSC and the Japan Sports Championship. The R90CK (built in Europe with a higher downforce design) was somewhat competitive in the World Sportscar Championship, and also entered (but only one of the four finished) the Le Mans 24 Hour. The R90CP (built in Japan with a lower downforce design) competed in the Japanese series and won the championship in 1990, 1991 and the C1 class in 1992.

6. Aston MArtin AMR1

The AMR1 participated for only one year (like its manufacturer), in 1989. It didn't compete particularily well, finishing (like this table) in sixth. However, it's among the only cars in the world with all chassis still in existence.

5. Jaguar XJR-12

Among all of the Jaguars that competed, this car became quite more famous. Jaguar were a very competitive manufacturer in Group C with the XJRs (8,9,11,12,14,15 and 17) but I'm focusing on the XJR as it was the one that won Le Mans in 1990. As previously covered, all the main Nissans broke down during this race, as did the #1 Jaguar and the #7 Porsche was delayed, leaving the #3 Nielsen/Cobb/Brundle car to win easily.

4. Peugeot 905B

The 905B competed in the twilight of the Group C era and pulled excellent results during this time. The car competed during 1991 and indeed won the last two races after the car was modified to counter the Jaguars. In 1992, the car walked the final season of WSC. The car also swept the Le Mans 24 in 1992 and 1993, picking up five of the six podium positions.

3. Porsche 956/962

The GOAT of Group C in terms of stats, the 962 is only third on personal preference. This car won 21 championships all around the world, and six Le Mans in a row between 1982 and 1987.

2. Mazda 767B and 787B

The 787B was the only Group C rotary and it wasn't as reliable as a result, with Mazda only sticking with it because of the brand's loyalty to rotaries and some performance benefits. In terms of the car's performance, the 1990 season was a bit of a disaster but in 1991, despite qualifying 19th, the #55 outlasted all other competitors to win the race. In terms of the keys to the race, the team manager instructed the drivers to drive the car like a sprint race; the car's reliability and fuel economy had improved markedly and were now class leading; and both Mercedes (the only challengers to this aggressive driving style) had issues. Mazda's fairytale win did come at a cost; Johnny Herbert who drove a double stint at the end had to go straight to the medical centre for exhaustion, after eating a dodgy plate of spaghetti. With that said, the one thing they didn't win compared to the Mercedes was...

1. Sauber-Mercedes C9

...this list. I've always loved the C9 (and the C11 successor) and personally I slightly prefer it to the Mazda. In terms of its competition history, it still won Le Mans in 1989, meaning that despite ceding the 1991 edition to Mazda, as aforementioned, it didn't miss out on a win at the great race. It won all races bar one in 1989, easily taking the drivers and teams championships.