WM P87
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| Category | Group C1 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Welter-Meunier | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Gérard Welter Michel Meunier | ||||||||
| Predecessor | WM P86 | ||||||||
| Successor | WM P88 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon kevlar | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Same as front | ||||||||
| Engine | Peugeot ZNS4 2.9 L (2,850 cc) V6 twin turbocharged Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland VG5200 5-speed manual | ||||||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | WM Secateva | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | |||||||||
| Debut | 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||||||
| Last season | 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Welter-Meunier P87 was a Group C sports prototype race car, designed, developed, and built by French motorsports team Welter Racing in 1987 and used in sports car racing until 1988. Only one model was produced.[1][2]
In 1976, Gérard Welter and Michel Meunier founded a racing team in order to start regularly with sports cars in the Le Mans 24-hour race. The small racing team developed surprisingly fast racing cars, which, however, often lacked stability. Finishing the 24-hour race in western France remained the exception. After the end of the race in 1986, which, in addition to a failure of the P86, ended with 12th place overall for the P83B, driven by Claude Haldi, Roger Dorchy, and Pascal Pessiot (67 laps behind the winners Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Al Holbert in the factory Porsche 962C), Welter decided to pool the limited resources in a new project.
The aim was now to surpass the 400 km/h hurdle at the fastest point of the course in the race in one of the next two years. A lot of preparatory work had to be done for this. First of all, Welter had to convince those responsible at the ACO of the sense and feasibility of the company. Above all, it was about getting the ACO to take official measurements so that any record would also be recognized. Then a tire manufacturer had to be found that would supply the necessary products. French tire manufacturer Michelin supplied tires with a special compound and guaranteed a speed of 410 km/h.
The drivers also had to be involved in advance, because such high speeds were and are the exception even in professional motorsport. Philippe Gache, Roger Dorchy, and Dominique Delestre agreed to drive a car capable of that top speed at Le Mans 1987.