The Sauber C8 was the first Sauber with a Mercedes-Benz engine.
This debut was sensational because the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer officially did not engage in motorsport at that time. Thanks to the engine from the S-Class, which was aided by two turbos in the sports car, Peter Sauber's team advanced from the back of the field to the front. The French specialist Ascott Collection offers a Sauber C8 for sale at the Retromobile in Paris.
Peter Sauber had already built his first sports car in the early 1970s. The Sauber C5 brought the first major successes. Herbert Müller won the then-popular Interserie with it in 1976. After a detour into Group 5, Sauber was involved from the beginning in Group C, introduced in 1982. However, the SHS C6 developed and built by Sauber was not a success story. Even the SEHCAR C830, derived from the C6, consistently failed to achieve success.
But Peter Sauber did not give up!
As early as 1983, a new sports car, the C7, was created in Hinwil. After the failure with the Ford Cosworth, Sauber opted for a BMW engine. Instead of the four-cylinder from Formula 2 that had powered the C5, the C7 used the six-cylinder from the BMW M1. This propelled the Sauber C7 to ninth place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, successfully breaking into the ranks of the Porsche 956 and inspiring Porsche to create the legendary „Nobody is perfect“ poster.
Peter Sauber then sold the only C7 to Fomfor Racing. The team from El Salvador competed with the race car in the IMSA GTP. Through Sauber employees Hans-Helmut Jülicher, Rüdiger Faul, and Leo Ress, who had previously worked at Daimler-Benz, Peter Sauber now had connections to the Stuttgart-based manufacturer. Jülicher, Faul, and Ress had worked on the C111-IV in 1979, powered by a 4.8-liter V8 engine with two exhaust turbochargers based on the M117.
The Sauber C8 returned Mercedes-Benz to Le Mans!
In the 1970s, Daimler-Benz had still prevented teams from competing with Mercedes engines at Le Mans. But this time, there were no objections. Thus, the Sauber C8 with Mercedes-Benz even made its debut at the Sarthe. John Nielsen, Dieter Quester, and Max Welti qualified the Sauber in a solid 17th starting position in 1985. However, „Super John“ crashed on the „Mulsanne Straight“. He severely damaging the Sauber, preventing it from starting the race.
For the rest of the year, the team focused on testing. Peter Sauber also used the time to secure sponsors, with the Mercedes engine helping in the effort. Yves Saint Laurent became the team's main sponsor with its fragrance „Kouros.“ This enabled Peter Sauber to compete in the entire Sports Car World Championship season. The team even entered two race cars in Le Mans. The biggest success came at the Nürburgring, where Henri Pescarolo and Mike Thackwell won the 1,000 km race.
The Sauber C8 was a milestone!
The success made the Sauber C8 a milestone for both Sauber and Mercedes-Benz. The chassis of the Sauber C8 was based on a conventional aluminum monocoque. It was closely related to the chassis of its predecessor, the C7. However, the true secret to the C8's success was the Mercedes-Benz M117 engine. Leo Ress designed a subframe to house the engine in the Sauber C8. Heini Marder handled engine tuning and delivered a powerful and reliable 650 hp unit.
The French specialist Ascott Collection will offer the Sauber C8 with chassis number 86.C8.02 for sale at the Retromobile in Paris in February. This is the C8 that won the 1,000 km race at the Nürburgring in 1986. At the end of 1986, private driver Noël del Bello took over the race car. The Frenchman entered the Sauber twice more at Le Mans in 1987 and 1988, as well as in other selected sports car races.
Picture credits: Archiv AutoNatives.de