There's no dispute that Formula 1 is the epitome of automotive engineering these days, in fact it has been since the sport was taken seriously by the privateer gentleman racers of the 20th Century. The breakthroughs in technology discovered by F1 engineers have always trickled down in later years to the world of supercars, allowing us mere mortals access to cutting edge kit that was once the result of millions of pounds worth of research and development.

In the same way that F1 tech can shift into road cars, it also found its way into endurance racing during the mid-1990s due to a sneaky move by the one and only Bernie Ecclestone. The owner of Formula 1 decided to push the FIA to enforce a rule that limited Group C cars to 3.5-litres of naturally aspirated displacement. That move meant that Formula 1 tech would have to be implemented to keep the cars competitive and exciting, seeing as F1 also used those regulations. It meant that smaller privateer teams were quietly squeezed out of the sport, paving the way for the GT1 specifications to be implemented. This essentially reduced the kudos that Le Mans (and endurance racing in general) once had.

Despite the rather morbid end to Group C racing, the surge towards Formula 1 technology did produce some truly heroic machinery that proved just how far endurance racing could be pushed in terms of development, speed and sheer cost. So I've put together a group of my favourite F1-engined racers from the peak of the Group C 'arms race'.

Jaguar XJR-14

In the late '80s and early '90s, Jaguar had dominated the World Sportscar Championship and IMSA Championship through its XJR racing cars built and raced by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The XJR-9 was by far the most famous of the Group C Jags, winning the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours, but the later XJR-16 was the last racer to use the successful 7.0-litre Jaguar V12. In came the new displacement rules and Jaguar decided to employ Ross Brawn to design its next competitive endurance car for 1991.

Brawn had ties with Formula 1 and Benetton by then, so - along with an inspired aerodynamic package - a Ford-Cosworth 3.5-litre V8 from Benetton's F1 programme sat behind Martin Brundle who drove the XJR-14 to championship success. The F1 engine was tuned to 650bhp which had the job of shifting a tiny kerb weight of just 750kg - it doesn't take much to imagine the ballistic performance such a car could produce.

Alfa Romeo SE 048SP

One of the prettiest Group C cars ever, the Alfa took over the Italian motorsport mantle at Le Mans from the Lancia LC2 during the controversial switch to the F1-based regulations. Behind the cockpit sat the 3.5-litre F1 V10 found in the legendary Alfa 164 ProCar, which itself had plucked the engine from the Ligier F1 team in 1988.

With Lancia focussing on its rally efforts and Ferrari hellbent on developing its F1 programme, Alfa Romeo was the only Fiat Group brand that had the capacity to pursue endurance racing. The 3.5-litre Tipo 1035 V10 engine was tuned to 620bhp and revved to over 13,000rpm, but the entire project came to a halt when Momo pulled out of sponsoring the team, meaning the SE 048SP never managed to race competitively.

Alba AR20

Now, in terms of car stories, this is a proper oddity. The Alba AR20 used a Subaru Formula 1 engine - a flat-12 to be precise. Subaru back in late 1980s decided that Formula 1 would be the best way to market the brand and therefore looked to an Italian outfit named Motori Moderni to produce a powertrain worthy of the sport.

A 3.5-litre flat-12 was the result and it debuted in a Coloni Formula 1 car at the 1990 US Grand Prix. The engine was a disaster in terms of both reliability and performance but the low centre of gravity of the boxer engine meant that the Alba Group C team opted to use the Subaru 1235 in its AR20 sportscar. Despite the F1 tech, it recorded 7 DNFs out of 9 starts, with the team quickly swapping the engine for a Buick V6.

Ecurie Ecosse C285

Although plenty of C2 cars used a Ford DFV engine in the mid-1980s, a car closest to my heart within the bunch is the EE C285. Used as a springboard to relaunch the legendary Scottish racing team, the Ecurie Ecosse racer was entered to the lesser-powered and cheaper C2 championship and contributed to a 2nd place Constructor's finish for the 1985 season.

The DFV was a V8 engine (originally produced from two I4s) manufactured by Cosworth for Formula 1 back in the late 1960s where it featured mostly famously in Colin Chapman's Lotuses. It could create anywhere between 400-500bhp and was enlarged from 3.0-litres to 3.3-litres, with the larger engine named the DFL. Both variants were used in the Ecurie Ecosse cars but reliability was often an issue, considering the engines were stressed for relatively short Formula 1 races compared to the long haul of Le Mans.

Peugeot 905

An icon of the 'F1-era' Group C period, the 905 and 905B used a 3.5-litre V10 that was subsequently shoehorned into the McLaren MP4/9 Formula 1 car of 1994. The Peugeot-manufactured A4 V10 produced 715bhp in its maximum tune (905B) and was utilised to take the fight to the Mazda, Jaguar and Mercedes Group C contenders.

Launched in 1990, it was a few years before the Peugeot came into its own and starting winning races after reliability-based DNFs. The 905 took back-to-back wins at Le Mans in 1992 and 1993, with three 3.5-litre machines locking out the '93 podium with a 1,2,3 finish. This would be the final year of the 3.5-litre naturally aspirated formula, with GT1 taking over and making the upper reaches of the motorsport much more affordable.

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Although the F1 technology that infiltrated Le Mans racing was a spectacular leap for the sport, the sheer expense meant that it brought about the demise of Group C, just as Ecclestone had planned. Seeing these cars at classic race events can often be bitter sweet then, considering that endurance racing was never the same again. Then again, there's no doubting their capabilities and although it was a short-lived era, it showed what could be achieved when manufacturer's pockets get that little bit deeper.

Which of these endurance legends tickles your fancy? Cast your vote below!