TIGA RACING CARS

TIGA RACING CARS

TIGA racing was established in 1975 by the New Zealander F1 racer Howden Ganley. He was active in the F1 in 1971 with BRM in 1971 and he drove for Frank Williams in 1973. In 1974 he drove briefly for March and the unsuccessful Japanese Maki team.

He started Tiga Racing with Australian Tim Schenken, also a F1 driver. He got his big break driving for the works Brabham team in 1971. He switched to Surtees the following year and did a one-off for Williams in Canada in 1973. In 1974 he joined the Trojan team, run by fellow Australian and ex-Brabham boss Ron Tauranac. Budget problems forced the team to close down. Thereafter he embarked on a program of sports and GT racing with the Gelo Racing team and drove the works Jaguar XJ12C coupes in the 1977 European Touring Car Championship.

The name “Tiga” originates from the first two letters of Tim and Ganley "Tiga" Racing Cars. The company initially embarked on a Formula Ford 1600 (FF1600) project. To streamline the manufacturing process and bypass the labor-intensive task of creating bucks, molds, and bodies, Tiga acquired an existing FF1600 constructor, MRE. Howden Ganley focused on designing a car to fit the acquired body.

In their inaugural year, Tiga sold 21 FF1600 cars, marking a strong start. The firm soon relocated to the former Fittipaldi headquarters near Reading to accommodate its growth. In 1977, Tiga was commissioned to construct a Sports 2000 car based on an existing design. This led to the creation of the Tiga SC77, the first in a successful series of Sports 2000 cars.

Tiga expanded its reach, manufacturing racing cars for a variety of motorsport disciplines, including open-wheel racing and sports car championships. The company’s designs proved to be highly competitive, with drivers of Tiga-built cars securing numerous titles.

One of Tiga’s notable successes came through its collaboration with Spice Engineering in 1983.
They produced together with designer Mike Coghlin the Tiga GC83.
Later, they constructed the GC284 and CC285.
A Spice-Tiga GC85 Ford clinched the Group C2 Teams title in the 1985 World Endurance Championship.
Further solidifying its legacy, Tiga won the 1988 Camel Lights Championship for Manufacturers in the North American IMSA GT Championship.

In 1988, Ganley had to sell all the assets of Tiga Racing cars. The new owners managed to take the last GC286 a step further with the GC287, 288 and the last CG289.