1990 Spice SE90

British-based Spice Engineering was created in the late 1980s by Gordon Spice. The purpose of the company was to build their own road cars and enter them in racing competitions. Spice was able to secure a contract to construct two Camel 'Lights' chassis for General Motors. The cars were to be powered by a 3.0-liter four-cylinder Pontiac 'Super Duty' engine that produced an impressive 350 horsepower. Spice was given instructions to create a body similar to the production of Fiero cars, thus its nickname being the 'Spice Pontiac Fiero.' Graham Humphrey provided the chassis drawings for the monocoque while construction was handled by BS Fabricators. The final assembly of the cars was handled by Spice Silverstone works.

The SE86C first appeared in 1986 and was used in Group C2 Competition. The SE87C was introduced in 1987, and the SE88C in 1988. There were a total of five examples of the SE88C created. The SE89 was introduced in 1989, and the list continues. SE90-028 in 1990 was the final chassis built. In total, there were around 11 examples of the SE90 created.

One chassis of the SE86 was powered by a DFL 3.3-liter engine. The second car was powered by a turbocharged 1.8-liter Hart engine. The SE89C was powered by a 3.3-liter and 3.5-liter engine. Team Chamberlain drove a SE89C to an FIA Cup Victory in 1992.

Spice Engineering was one of the most successful constructors of the Group C and IMSA Sportscar class. From 1986 to 1988 the Spice cars enjoyed numerous successes, both in GTP 'Lights' and in the European 'C2' class. In 1989 and 1990 the cars gained even more success, this time through privateer Scott Schubot and his girlfriend Linda Ludemann. Their car was a SE88C powered by a Buick V6 which had tremendous success state-side. Schubot would go on to earn the 'Lights' Drivers' Title, and Ludemann became the first female to win a prototype race.

By now, the Spice cars were frequent competitors in the racing circuit, entered by numerous teams. Power was being supplied by Buick, Pontiac, and even Ferrari. Rule changes in 1990 gave the Spice cars and their American pushrod engines an advantage, though it was still difficult to compete for overall victory against the more powerful Nissans, Jaguars, and Porsches. The Jaguars were using overhead cam engines while Nissan used turbochargers. The rule changes gave the Spice cars, and many other American-powered cars, advantages of either engine size or overall vehicle weight. The Spice Factory Team chose to go with weight reduction and Jim Miller's MTI team selected the engine capacity, moving them from 5.5-liters to 6.0, and later to 6.5-liters. Even with the advantages, the overall victory was still elusive.

The Comptech Racing Acura-Spice GTP Lights race car, powered by a modified Acura NSX engine, carried driver Parker Johnstone to three consecutive Manufacturers' Championships and three consecutive Drivers' Championships in the prestigious IMSA Camel GTP Lights series (1991-93). The Comptech Acura also captured the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring in 1993.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2007