# Tiga GC288 (Group C2)

- Source: https://racingcarnetwork.com/wiki/tiga-gc288/
- Publisher: Racing Car Network (racingcarnetwork.com), the race car marketplace
- Type: car · Brand: Tiga
- Discipline: endurance-prototypes
- Series: group-c
- Era: 1980s
- Last updated: 2026-07-06
- For sale on RCN: https://racingcarnetwork.com/for-sale/tiga-gc288/ (0 live listings right now)

The GC288 was Tiga's last and best Group C2 prototype: the 1988 customer coupé that fought Spice for the junior class's honours at Le Mans and in the World Championship — and now races on in historic Group C's most affordable tier.

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 3.3 L Cosworth DFL V8 (typical) |
| Power | ~540 hp |
| Weight | ~800 kg (C2 minimum) |
| Gearbox | Hewland VG/DG 5-speed |
| Chassis | Aluminium honeycomb monocoque, GRP body |
| Aero | Ground-effect C2 package |
| Years | 1988–1989 |
| Class | Group C2 (historic Group C grids) |

## History

Tiga — founded by ex-F1 racers Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley, the name their initials — built customer racing cars across a dozen categories, but Group C2 was its kingdom: affordable aluminium-honeycomb coupés for the fuel-formula's privateer class. The GC288 of 1988 crowned the line — cleaner aero over the proven tub, typically Cosworth DFL 3.3 power, built for teams racing Le Mans on budgets the C1 factories spent on hospitality.

GC-series Tigas collected the C2 class's staple results through the mid-80s — class podiums at Le Mans, World Sportscar Championship C2 wins and title challenges against Spice's benchmark cars, national sports-prototype honours in Britain — with the GC288 arriving just as Spice's dominance and C2's approaching abolition capped its window.

Historic Group C revived the type's purpose: Peter Auto's Group C grids and Le Mans Classic welcome C2 machinery, where Tigas deliver the full ground-effect-era experience — the look, the venues, the soundtrack — at a fraction of 956/962 money. The marque's compact fleet is documented, and DFL/Hewland running gear keeps operation within ambitious-privateer reach, exactly as Schenken and Ganley intended.

## Palmarès

World Sportscar Championship C2 class wins and Le Mans 24 Hours C2 class podiums across the GC-series' 1984–88 run; British national sports-prototype titles; Thundersports-era wins — and current historic Group C class results at Peter Auto rounds and Le Mans Classic, where GC288s run the C2 division's front.

## What to check before you buy

Tiga's production was small and the registrars know the tubs — verify GC288 identity versus earlier GC284/286 (updates blurred lines in period) and period entry history through the Group C community. Inspect honeycomb tub condition (delamination and crash repairs need specialist eyes), DFL engine provenance and rebuild status (the 3.3's harmonics have known appetites — ask which specialist), and Hewland VG/DG internals. Historic Group C eligibility with current papers is the value driver; a Peter Auto-ready car with spares outprices a stored project by multiples, and deservedly.

## Did you know

- Tiga built over 400 cars across categories in barely a decade — Schenken and Ganley ran one of the most prolific customer constructors nobody outside paddocks knew.
- C2's fuel formula rewarded cunning: Tiga crews raced to consumption spreadsheets, and class wins were sometimes decided by litres remaining, not laps.
- The GC288 arrived the season before C2's abolition was confirmed — Tiga's best prototype had the shortest front-line life, a collector's classic setup.

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