One to Buy: 1988 Toyota 88C
For the 1988 season, Toyota created the 88C which was a fairly straightforward evolution of the previous year’s 87C. These updated cars, again powered by a turbocharged 2.1-litre 3S-GT inline four cylinder motor, would be campaigned on Toyota’s behalf by the factory-supported TOM’s organisation based in Tokyo.
A further uprated 88C-V came on stream in late July.
1988 would see TOM’s compete in both the six-round All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and at the Le Mans 24 Hours. A formidable opposition variously included factory cars from Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.
That year’s best results for the 88C were a brace of fifth place finishes at the Suzuka 500km on April 10th (Stefan Johansson / Paolo Barilla) and at the Suzuka 1000km on August 28th (Paolo Barilla / Hitoshi Ogawa / Tiff Needell).
At Le Mans, the Toyotas qualified eighth and tenth. The car of Geoff Lees, Masanori Sekiya and Karou Hoshino went on to finish twelfth overall while the sister entry of Paolo Barilla, Hitoshi Ogawa and Tiff Needell was classified 24th.
For 1989, Toyota moved on to the 89C-V as the old 88Cs were dispatched to the USA for an IMSA campaign managed by Dan Gurney’s fabled All American Racers.
Currently on offer at the Historic Classics showroom in East Sussex is 88C chassis 87C-007 which contested five races for TOM’s in 1988 to include an appearance at Le Mans. It was the car that Barilla / Johansson drove to fifth in the Suzuka 500km and that Barilla / Needell used to claim seventh in the Fuji 500km. It was also the chassis that Barilla / Ogawa / Needell raced at Le Mans where a creditable 24th position was realised despite two trips into the gravel. 87C-007 then completed a full IMSA campaign during 1989 which yielded two pole positions, three podiums and four top-five finishes.
Today, 87C-007 is presented in immaculate race-ready condition.
Reprinted below is Historic Classics’ description for this ex-works Toyota Group C car:
An Ex-Works Toyota from Group C’s apex year and an ideal entry for historic racing.
One of two ex-works Le Mans Toyota 88Cs
Iconic taka-Q NewMan livery
Ex-Stefan Johansson, Paolo Barilla, Tiff Needell, Juan Manuel Fangio II
One of very few cars to have raced in all three Group C championships
Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring history
Run by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers team in IMSA
Enormous package of spares
Perfect for Le Mans Classic and Historic Group C racing
With so many works teams and manufacturers represented, the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours is considered to be the pinnacle race from that golden era of sports car racing. Porsches had won six consecutive Le Mans – that’s every single one since the ‘new’ Group C category was introduced in 1982 for those of you counting – and, going into 1988, they were still very much the marque to beat.
Jaguar was still playing catch up and, even though its TWR-run cars had enjoyed significant success, victory at Le Mans had still eluded them. For ’88 they fielded a fleet of 5 fire-breathing V12 XJR9s. But it wasn’t just the giants of Germany and Great Britain, the Japanese were keen to get in on the action and both Nissan and Toyota each sent a two car team – not to mention the three-car Mazda team in the GTP class.
Bringing all this action into living colour were the dazzling array of now-infamous liveries, with household brands indelibly linked to the manufacturers they sponsored. Few people remember the designations of ‘XJR9’ or ‘962’, but the Silk Cut Jag’ and Shell Dunlop Porsche? Iconographic.
Just as striking were Toyota’s two 88Cs. One was sponsored by Minolta and the other was this, their standout Taka-Q car. These waspish yellow, black and white colours had been made famous by sponsor NewMan on the double Le Mans winning Joest Porsches, and its fair to say that they suited the curvier Toyota very well indeed – perhaps even better than the squarer Porsche 956.
The 88C capitalised on the tough lessons learned with its predecessor and, while both share the 87C chassis designation, the 1988 car was a significant improvement. Following a strict diet and focussing on nimble chassis design, Toyota utilised a relatively diminutive 2.1-litre four-cylinder turbo engine. The outcome was that the overall weight was a mere 760kg (the portly Jags were nearer 900kg) and the 650bhp available exceeded that of Porsche’s 956 flat six.
This example, chassis 87C-007, debuted at the 500km of Fuji in March ’88 and began a streak of three top-ten finishes in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship before making the long journey to France for Round Five of the World Sportscar Championship: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Paolo Barilla, Hitoshi Ogawa and Tiff Needell excelled in qualifying and placed the No.37 Toyota on the 5th row of the grid. An outstanding result, when you consider that only cars to best the Toyotas were works Porsches and Jaguars, and a Porsche 962 each run by the prolific Joest and Kremer outfits. During the race two trips to the gravel trap cost the No.37 car insurmountable time and, although undamaged, 87C-007 would finish in 24th place. The potential had been proven though, with the Minolta Toyota coming home 12th.
The 88C answered its ultimate calling in 1989 and found incredible form in the American IMSA series. Run by motorsport hero Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Team (AAR) 87C-007 was frequently helmed by Juan Manuel Fangio II and impressively scored two pole positions, three podiums and four top-five finishes. Arguably more impressive is the fact that 87C-007’s career had now spanned all three of Group C’s championships - All Japan Sports Prototypes, World Sportscars and IMSA – and had included the category’s big three races of Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring. Quite an achievement indeed and one that very few chassis can surely boast.
Recently returned to its 1988 appearance, 87C-007 would be an ideal entry for the enormously popular historic Group C racing series and indeed Le Mans Classic. Short of securing a drive in the current and Le Mans winning Toyota team for the 24 hour race, you are unlikely to be able to experience Le Mans at such speed than in the Classic Group C race.
For those seeking a genuine and important ex-works mount for Group C Racing, the barrier to entry has usually been exceptionally high there can also be the added complication of when damaged cars have tubs changed and identities become confused. But this Toyota is not only a refreshingly genuine and rare ex-works car with fantastic provenance, but is a significantly more realistic proposition and is accompanied by an abundance of spares – even down to moulds for the bodywork.
Both the potential and ingredients are very much there for this Toyota to be the ultimate historic Group C racer.
1988 Toyota 88C 87C-007 Race History
3rd March 1988: 500km of Fuji - Paolo Barilla / Tiff Needell - (#37) 7th
10th April 1988: 500km of Suzuka - Paolo Barilla / Stefan Johansson (#37) 5th
1st May 1988: 1000km of Fuji - Paolo Barilla / Tiff Needell / Hitoshi Ogawa (#37) 10th
12th June 1988: 24 Hours of Le Mans - Paolo Barilla / Tiff Needell / Hitoshi Ogawa (#37) 24th
24th July 1988: 500 miles of Fuji - Paolo Barilla / Tiff Needell / Hitoshi Ogawa (#37) Retired
7th January 1989: Daytona Test - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Willy T. Ribbs (#98) N/A
5th February 1989: 24 Hours of Daytona - Drake Olson / Chris Cord / Steve Bren (#98) 50th
5th March 1989: 3 Hours of Miami - Drake Olson / Chris Cord (#98) 4th
18th March 1989: 12 Hours of Sebring - Drake Olson / Chris Cord / Steve Bren (#98) 39th
2nd April 1989: 500km of Road Atlanta - Drake Olson / Chris Cord (#98) 14th
23rd April 1989: West Palm Beach - Drake Olson / Chris Cord (#98) 3rd
29th May 1989: 150-Laps of Lime Rock - Drake Olson (#98) 13th
4th June 1989: 500km Mid Ohio - Drake Olson / Chris Cord (#98) 14th
2nd July 1989: 500km of Watkins Glen - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Drake Olson (#98) 3rd
16th July 1989: 500km of Road America - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Drake Olson (#98) 5th
30th July 1989: 300km of Portland - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Drake Olson (#98) 11th
13th August 1989: 300km of Topeka - Drake Olson (#98) 4th
3rd September 1989: 2 Hours of San Antonio - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Drake Olson (#1) 2nd
10th September 1989: 300km of Sears Point - Juan Manuel Fangio II / Drake Olson (#98) 5th
1st October 1989: 360km of Tampa - Juan Manuel Fangio II/ Drake Olson (#98) 23rd
