1974 Ligier JS2
Pilots: J. Laffite, A. Serpaggi
Team: Automobiles Ligier
Race: 8th GC (S 3.0 class) at Le Mans in 1974
Ixo - LMC 137 (diecast)
Published 08/16/18
Ligier JS2 #19 (06/16/17):
Automobiles Ligier was founded in 1968 by Guy Ligier, and the JS2 was the company’s second car. Both the preceding JS1 and JS2 were called that way as a tribute to the late Jo Schlesser. Schlesser was Guy’s business partner and close friend. The JS2 was built on an aluminum chassis with fiberglass bodywork by Frua and when it was introduced in 1970, was powered by a 2.6 liter Ford V6. But in 1973 Ligier made a deal with Maserati and the car received the larger C114 engine, a 2965 cm³ 90 degree DOHC V6 with hemispherical combustion chambers and 12 valves.
Ligier had a factory team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1972 to 1975, always with the JS2. The engine was a Maserati V6 until 1975 when they switched to a Ford-Cosworth. Interestingly, the best result of a Ligier car at Le Mans was in 1975. Their car #5 finished in 2nd place overall. But after the 1975 race Guy Ligier decided to concentrate his efforts in F1 racing and terminated the GT racing program. In 1974 the team had two cars at La Sarthe. JS2 #15 finished in 8th place, 27 laps behind the winner, while JS2 #14 had to abandon on lap 82.
Compared to my JS2 from Spark I would say that the Ixo holds its own. In fact, because of the nicer livery and headlights, I would say that JS2 #15 here is the best model. So it’s a VERY nice model but I don’t think it will appeal to non-Le Mans nuts. Unless, of course, you’re a Ligier fan.