Endurance racing, dear to Arpiem with its "TSR" collections, experienced a golden period during the 80s with the Group C regulations. These were surprisingly simple: after defining a minimum weight (800 kg) and maximum dimensions, specifying that the cars were two-seaters and closed, the rule was that of limiting the car's consumption. That's all. So total freedom of choice of engine, cylinder capacity, turbocharging, etc.

This space of freedom interested many participants and no fewer than 45 manufacturers built a Group C prototype (in the C1 or C2 category) between 1982 and 1992, including Courage / Jaguar / Mazda / Sauber / Nissan / Peugeot / Porsche / Rondeau / Spice / Tiga / Toyota / Lancia / Dome…

Nine manufacturers won at least one race. The most notable facts include:

• RONDEAU was the first winner of a Group C race in 1982 at Monza. It was only a trick by Jean Marie Balestre, the President of the FIA, who shamefully maneuvered to offer the crown to Porsche, which prevented the French from winning the title that year... (politics, when you hold us...)
• PORSCHE, which will remain the benchmark manufacturer in Group C, won no fewer than 42 of the 97 races contested during the period, including 28 in the iconic Rothmans colors, carried over from the Arpiem GROUP C
• PORSCHE in particular will place 9 cars among the top 10 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 19.
• MAZDA, with its 787B quad-rotor, won only one race, but the most important: the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.

Group C has enabled the creation of legendary cars that still generate so much emotion among fans: the Porsche 956 and 962, the Jaguar XJR 9, the Sauber C9 and the Mazda 787B.

It died out due to a lack of competitors at the end of 1992, after a final period of domination by Peugeot, and the World Sportscar Championship with it. This would not be reborn until 2010 with the WEC (World Endurance Championship).