Ligier Automotive showcases the Ligier JS2 at Rétromobile 2024
Ligier Automotive will be present at the 2024 Rétromobile Show from 31 January to 4 February in Paris, Porte de Versailles. The French manufacturer will exhibit two historic vehicles, a Ligier JS2 road car and a Ligier JS2 racing car. The heir to this iconic model, the Ligier JS2 R, will also be present at the stand.
The Rétromobile show is a must-attend for classic car enthusiasts. Ligier Automotive will take visitors on a journey through its history, past and present, with three exceptional vehicles on display.
• The #62 racing Ligier JS2. This 1973 circa Ligier JS2 race car is powered by a 270 hp Maserati V6 engine. This Ligier JS2, in the colours of BP, its sponsor at the time, competed in the 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans with Guy Ligier and Jacques Laffite behind the wheel. The #62 set the sixteenth fastest time of 4:12.5s in qualifying. However, it was disqualified after an unauthorised oil refuelling. It has also competed in the Tour de France Auto, the 1000 km of Dijon and more recently in the Le Mans Classic.
• A Ligier JS2 road car powered by a 220 hp Maserati Merak SS 6-cylinder 3-litre engine. Produced in 1975, the model on display is one of the last Ligier JS2s ever built. Only seven examples exist in this configuration, including the final Ligier JS2 kept by the brand's founder, Guy Ligier, and subsequently passed on to his son Philippe.
• A Ligier JS2 R. A direct descendant of the Ligier JS2, the Ligier JS2 R was released to celebrate the brand's Golden Jubilee. Since its presentation in October 2018 at the Paris Motor Show, more than 100 chassis have been produced. Exclusively designed for racing, the Ligier JS2 R is powered by a 350 hp Ford V6 engine. In a nod to the 1973 Ligier JS2, the Ligier JS2 R exhibited at Rétromobile will feature a special livery. It is a first for the car, which normally sports the brand's tricolour livery.
Michel Beaujon, chief engineer at Ligier from 1972 to 1992 and President of the Ligier JS2 Club since 2017, comments: "The JS2, the brand's iconic road car, will be on display in its most accomplished version from 1975, alongside another JS2, but this time in its first competition version, and its worthy heir the JS2 R in a distinctive livery. What better way to demonstrate the continuity between Ligier's past and present?"
"I worked alongside Guy throughout the Ligier era out of loyalty and friendship. And I'm proud to see the tricolour brand, my favourite brand, and by the same token, Guy's memory of racing all over the world, represented at this wonderful event, Rétromobile."
The #62 competition Ligier JS2 was restored by the Ligier Classic department, which is responsible for the restoration, maintenance and operation of historic vehicles, including Martini Automobiles*, Ligier, Pescarolo LMP1 and LMP2 and Morgan LMP2**. More recently, this Ligier Automotive facility restored two Ligier JS P2s, the first generation of LMP2 Ligiers. These sports prototypes performed brilliantly at the Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival last December, finishing third and fifth in Race 1, then first and sixth in Race 2.
"This event, which has become internationally renowned, is a high-priorty for Ligier Automotive, which wants to look back at its history and its foundations," explains Jacques Nicolet, Chairman of Ligier Automotive. "Our Ligier Classic department aims to revive all the periods in Ligier's history. Ligier needs to position itself for the future through projects such as the Ligier JS2 RH2, the first hydrogen-powered Ligier, without losing sight of the brand's foundations".
Ligier Automotive will share its stand with Stand 21, a long-standing partner of the French constructor. Several decades ago, the equipment manufacturer supplied Ligier drivers such as Jacques Laffite. The collaboration between the two brands continues today through Ligier Automotive and its single-make championships, the Ligier JS Cup France and the Ligier European Series.
Useful information:
Visit Ligier Automotive at the Rétromobile show at the Parc des Expositions, Paris Porte de Versailles, from 31 January to 4 February 2024.
The stand is located in Hall 1, Stand M008 Ligier Automotive & Stand 21.
The show is open from 10 am to 10 pm on Wednesday, 31 January and Friday, 2 February, and from 10 am to 7 pm on Thursday, 1, Saturday, 3 and Sunday, 4 February.
* Ligier Automotive has owned the Martini Automobiles brand since the merger between Guy Ligier and Tico Martini in 2000.
** All these models have been produced and operated by Ligier Automotive at some point in its history.