“The Smurf Car”

The Ligier JS5 was the first Formula One racing car built by Ligier. Designed by Gérard Ducarouge, it competed in the 1976 Formula One season, gaining 20 points (not bad at all, for a first year) and getting sixth place overall in the Constructors’ Championship.

Gérard Ducarouge, with the assistance from Michel Beaujon, drew up a conventional monocoque with a long wheelbase, that was powered by the Matra V12 engine, which has been successfully used in sports car racing for the previous few seasons.

The early races of the season, like here at Kyalami (picture-above), were completed with the JS5 bearing a very large air box (earning the car the nickname “The Smurf Car”), but changes of regulations following the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix saw this drastically downsized (picture here-under at the Nürburgring).

At Kyalami, Jacques Laffite qualified a good 8th, but retired after 49 laps with a blown engine. Niki Lauda won the race in his Ferrari. Picture here-under: Laffite in the modified JS5, in the famous Karussell corner at the Nürburgring.