With Renault’s withdrawal at the end of 1986, Ligier also found itself without the much-coveted French turbo engine, a unit long pursued by team owner Guy Ligier. Once again, he was forced to look for a supplier capable of providing adequate performance for his single-seaters. An opportunity arose with Alfa Romeo’s exit from Formula 1, as the Milan-based manufacturer had already begun developing a new inline 4-cylinder engine modeled after the BMW M12/13. Alfa Romeo agreed to continue development of the new 415T, still in its tuning phase and intended to replace the aging V8 890T, to power the new Ligier JS29.
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| LIGIER JS29B, Renè Arnoux Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1987 |
The 415T was initially tested in an old Alfa Romeo 185 chassis, specially assembled by Euroracing and named the 185V. Development later continued in a Ligier JS29 chassis that was extensively tested during the winter by René Arnoux and Piercarlo Ghinzani, with inconsistent results. However, the new Alfa Romeo engine was publicly criticized by Arnoux, who described it as “reheated soup.” Whether because of these comments or, more likely, due to Fiat’s opposition to Alfa Romeo’s continued involvement in Formula 1 (viewed as internal competition, given Fiat’s stake in Ferrari and recent acquisition of Alfa Romeo), the 415T turbo project was abruptly halted by the Milanese manufacturer.
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| LIGIER JS29B, Renè Arnoux Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1987 |
Left without an engine just weeks before the start of the championship, Ligier turned to Jackie Oliver to obtain the Megatron turbo, essentially the old BMW M12/13, which had the same 4-cylinder layout as the 415T but a completely different hydraulic system and, most notably, poor balance. The German turbo’s vibrations forced Ligier engineers to completely redesign the rear suspension, which was prone to repeated failures caused by the excessive vibration, ultimately delaying the car’s debut. Although Arnoux was entered with the JS29 for the opening race in Brazil, the car never took to the track and was hastily replaced by the Ligier JS29B fitted with the Megatron turbo, which made its debut at Imola in the second round of the season.
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| LIGIER JS29B, Renè Arnoux Imola, San Marino GP 1987 |
The new car project was overseen by a team of technicians including designer Claude Galopin, stylist Michel Beaujon, and aerodynamic engineer Henri Durand, all led by technical director Michel Tétù. The car was highly conventional, featuring a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, push-rod suspension at both front and rear, a wheelbase of 2835 mm, and a weight of 540 kg. The JS29B proved rather underwhelming, and from the sixth race of the season in France it was updated to the new “C” version, mainly modified at the rear to better accommodate the new Megatron engine. Ironically, the only point scored by the French team in 1987 came in Belgium, the third race of the season and the second for Ligier, with Arnoux finishing sixth behind the wheel of the original “B” version of the JS29.
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| LIGIER JS29C, Piercarlo Ghinzani Estoril, Portuguese GP 1987 |
With the introduction of the “C” version, results deteriorated further, marked by a series of retirements due to mechanical issues, with only Ghinzani managing to secure two eighth-place finishes. To be fair, the Megatron engine supply, now owned by Arrows, was extremely limited both in terms of the number of units available to Ligier and the quality of the engines themselves. The Bavarian 4-cylinders were managed by Swiss tuner Heini Mader, who reserved the best units for Jackie Oliver’s team. Ligier’s season ended with a dismal eleventh place in the Constructors’ Championship and just one point, one of the worst campaigns in the history of the French outfit.
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