Description
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the BRDC Classic 2026 - Competition Cars on Friday the 24th of July, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, NN12 8TN. Group C was a category of Sports Car Racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 that ran until 1993. Famous for radical aerodynamics and immense horsepower, it is widely regarded as the ‘golden age’ of endurance racing. It led to the production of legendary cars that wrote some of the most glorious pages in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Sports Car World Endurance Championship. Group C revolutionised endurance racing with radical aerodynamics and unprecedented power. Unrestricted by engine size, Group C prioritized innovative designs and engineering, resulting in sleek, high-downforce machines that could reach remarkable top speeds while making use of underbody ‘black magic’ to create massive levels of downforce. Early on, the Porsche 956s dominated despite stiff opposition from the Lancia LC2s, and then in 962 specification, came up against much tougher rivals with the arrival of Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Alongside the major manufacturers small constructors like Cougar, Dome, Rondeau, Spice and WM could still pull off the odd coup. Group C was abandoned in the early 1990s after a brief change to the 3rd generation 3. 5-litre cars (Peugeot 905, Jaguar XJR-14, Toyota TS010, etc) but was an era that is still hugely evocative today. Already an accomplished and very successful driver, Gordon Spice established Silverstone-based Spice Engineering in the mid-1980s, initially to focus on preparing and developing existing sports racers. Ahead of the 1986 season, however, Spice was tasked by General Motors with the construction of a new Pontiac IMSA GTP racer. In addition to the cars headed Stateside, Spice also fielded Group C2 variants with great success. In the 1988 World Sports Car Championship, the Spice Works cars, one of which was piloted by Gordon Spice and Ray Bellm, absolutely dominated the C2 class. The Cosworth-engined Spice won 10 of the 11 rounds, including a C2 class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, their meticulous engineering and deep understanding of the demands of endurance racing being rewarded with the WSC Championship. A change in the Group C regulations, which included a low minimum weight for naturally-aspirated 3. 5-litre engined cars, made the larger C1 class a viable option for Spice from 1989 onwards, initially with the SE89 followed by the SE90 for 1990. The SE90C (Group C) and the SE90P (IMSA/ GTP) went on to become the most successful and best-looking Spice cars. Though the team eventually disbanded in the mid-1990s, Spice Engineering’s legacy endures, remembered for their significant contributions to sports car racing and their impact on the development of competitive racing technologies. The car presented here is a 1990 Spice C1 (Group C) race car, chassis #SE90C-021, which was originally shipped, in 1990, to the Japanese FEDCO Team for the 1991-season (by this time, Spice Engineering had been forced into bankruptcy and had been acquired by the Japanese corporation FEDCO). The car was entered at the May Fuji 1000km but failed to finish, after which it was immediately flown back to Europe to participate in the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it would be driven by the experienced former SARD-Toyota driver Naoki Nagasaka, plus rookies Yokoshima and Misaki of the FEDCO Team, with support provided by the Spice semi-works Euro Racing team. The 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans was quite a memorable race with only 12 cars finishing and SE90C-021 winning the C1 class. After its incredible Le Mans victory, the car returned to Japan where it raced, only a month later, at the Fuji 500km where it finished a very credible 7th overall. This was the last in-period race that SE90C-021 took part in and it was subsequently put aside for several years until it was brought back to Europe and acquired by its current long-term, UK-owner in late 2003. A full rebuild was then carried out by Alan Howell of Weylock Racing after which SE90C-021 started its historic Group C/ GTP racing career in 2004, subsequently achieving multiple race wins, pole positions, fastest laps and several lap records. After another interlude of a few years, SE90C-021 was fully rebuilt again by expert-preparer, Pete Gretton, in 2008. In 2016, it was the subject of a further extensive body-off rebuild, including a new bag tank and engine crack test. The 5-speed gearbox was also fully rebuilt with a new CWP. The car has only been used for three testing days (the last of which was in April 2017) since this extensive work and, due to circumstances, it has not been used or raced since. Consequently, SE90C-021 will require some recommissioning including crack testing but has a new fuel cell dated until August 2029 and is mechanically on-the-button (although we would recommend a refresh of its Cosworth...
