Gebhardt C91 – Widescreen gallery
By Marcel Hundscheid /Speed-O-Graphica.com
Learn a little about the unique Gebhardt C91 Group C racer, thanks to this widescreen gallery by Marcel Hundscheid of Speed-O-Graphica.
Brothers Günther and Fritz, leading German producers of high speed conveyor systems, turned their attention to Group C cars during the early eighties. Initially they produced the JC842 and JC843 for the 1983 and 1984 Le Mans 24 Hours, scoring top ten finishes.
In 1987 the Gebhardt name disappeared but it would reappear in the early ’90s when the Gebhardt C91 flirted with both the IMSA Championship and the FIA Sportscar World Championship. In 1991 the C91 entered the American IMSA championship powered by an 2.1 litre Audi turbo engine. Using the 2.1 litre Audi engine, the car was allowed to enter the GTP-category. With the help of MOMO, the C91 made three appearances, competing at Topeka, Watkins Glen and Road America. Its best result was seventeenth place at Topeka, driven by Gianpiero Moretti.
After this season, Gebhardt Motorsport began to flirt with the FIA World Sportscar Championship. In order to enter this category it was necessary to assemble a 3.5-litre engine with an atmospheric displacement, so the turbocharged 2.1-litre Audi was replaced by the Ford Cosworth 3.5 litre V8 DFR.
The car was driven by Almo Coppelli and Frank Kraemer, scoring a fourth place at the Monza 500 km race. One more participation in the 500 kilometers of Silverstone was added, but after two laps the engine broke. That same year they made one last run at the Nürburgring for the Interserie championship, finishing in tenth place.
This was the last time the Gebhardt C91 was seen. In 1998 Gebhardt replaced the bodywork with an open roof and they ran at the South African round of the FIA World Sportscar Championship at Kyalami. By that time the car had been renamed the Gebhardt G4. In 1999 Gebhardt participated in four tests, but the project was eventually stopped.
In 2005 the car was purchased by a new owner in the United Kingdom. From that time it was completely restored to its previous specification with an 580 hp 3.5 litre Cosworth V8. In 2005 and 2006 it appeared at several races of the Group C Racing series. In 2014 the unique car was acquired by Frank Lyons and his son Michael Lyons, who raced it in the Group C Racing series.
