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12573 view(s)  The 1991 season marked the introduction of the FIA’s new, and controversial, 3.5 litre formula which replaced the highly successful Group C category that had been used in the World Sportscar Championship since 1982, though due to a small number of entries for the 3.5 litre formula heavily penalised Group C cars (which were subject to weight penalties and started behind the new-style C1 entries on the grid) were allowed participate in the season's C2 category.
To meet the new regulations Mercedes-Benz came up with an all-new car; the C291 which was designed by its racing partner Sauber.
Unlike the Jaguar XJR-14 the C291 resembled previous sports-prototype, despite the fact that the redesign of the Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe in 1990 meant cars with their low drag design, top-end power, straight-line acceleration and top-speed characteristics were no longer required. Unlike the Jaguar (and latterly the Peugeot 905B) the Mercedes still featured a full width low-drag single-tier rear wing and no front wing. This resulted in the car having a higher top speed that the Jaguar (and only slightly less than Group C cars) .
However, this, allied to the characteristics of the 3.5 litre engine, meant the car would be less accelerative above 150-170 mph than Group C cars, therefore not taking advantage of the low-drag design, and conversely the low-drag design meant the car was slower in the corners than the Jaguar and Peugeot’s 905B, this time not taking advantage of the lower kerb weight of 750 kilograms (1,653 lb). Overall the C291 was not as fast as a contemporary Formula One car around some circuits used by the Grand Prix fraternity, and was a lot slower at Le Man’s Circuit de la Sarthe in 1991.
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Models for Sauber C291
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Liveries
