1989 Spice SE89P Chevrolet GTP
Beater of Porsche 962C, Jaguar XJR-10, Nissan NPT-90 and Eagle HF-89s in period.
Originally sold to the USA with Chevrolet V8 power for Jim Miller Racing and central to the formation of Pratt & Miller.
Raced by Miller and Bob Earl through the 1989 IMSA season, scoring 2nd at Watkins Glen and Tampa.
Developed for 1990 with Wayne Taylor joining Miller at the wheel, taking 2nd at Lime Rock.
The predecessor to and the test bed for the Intrepid and run alongside it during 1991 with Tommy Kendall, claiming pole position at West Palm Beach.
A unique specification with superior engine, suspension and aerodynamic package thanks to the period development by Pratt & Miller with Bob Riley.
Historic Group C outright race winner and 2019 champion. Eligible for Peter Auto’s Group C series and the Le Mans Classic.
Price: £POA
Chassis Number: SE89P-003
The Spice Story
Gordon Spice rose the fore of the British motorsport scene in the late 1960s having won a class of the British Saloon Car Championship with a Mini Cooper in 1968. After a few early ’70s non-championship Formula 1 appearances, Spice found particular success with Ford’s Capri.
Coinciding with a ban on the V8 Chevrolet Camaros, Spice and the Group 1 Capri took victory in the 1975 British Saloon Car Championship in the 3000cc class. Spice built on this success, taking a remarkable 5 further championship victories in succession, cementing himself and the Capri as as tin-top icons.
1980 saw Gordon Spice join French manufacturer Jean Rondeau, a driver himself, in the Le Mans 24 Hours with the Cosworth DFV powered Rondeau M379, with the same Belga backing as in the Capri. Driving with Jean-Michel Martin and Philippe Martin, Spice won the C2 class at Le Mans that year, finishing 3rd overall in the endurance classic. In 1981 he repeated the overall result with Rondeau and finished 2nd in C2.
Gordon Spice took on a World Endurance Championship campaign with customer Ray Bellm for 1984. Running a Tiga, built by Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley, with Cosworth DFL power, the team took 3rd in the Group C2 championship standings. 1985 saw them take the C2 World Endurance Championship honours and 1st in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Bellm had entered into business with Spice, and 1986 signalled their first year as a manufacturer with the SE86C Group C2 car. European success continued with further class wins in the Le Mans 24 Hours and World Championship in 1987 and 1988, while they also gained a presence in US market with the IMSA Camel Lights series thanks to General Motors input.
Spice’s first premier class C1 and GTP car was built for the 1989 season. Named the SE89C for C1, the GTP contender was christened the SE89P and used the same chassis while being available for different V8 engine fitments.
The SE89 was built around an aluminium honeycomb monocoque which incorporated carbon fibre panels over its top section. The front suspension was by double wishbone and controlled by pushrod activated, inboard mounted dampers, while the rear utilised a rocker top link with the damper mounted outboard to give the Venturis more room as the progressed to the diffuser. Inboard, blade type anti-roll bars were used at the front and rear, linked to the cockpit to give driver adjustment on track.
The V8 engines were supported by bolt-in engine frames extending back from the monocoque and joining to the bell-housing. Power was transferred to the rear wheels through a Spice cased Hewland gearbox and driveshafts with CV joints.
Braking was handled by large diameter steel discs and aluminium four piston AP Racing brake callipers. Lightweight BBS split rim wheels connected the SE89 to the ground, while carbon bodywork enclosed the mechanicals and an individual rear wing brought adjustable downforce.
This Car, SE89P-003
SE89P-003 was one of just three SE89s built for IMSA GTP, and the only one to be fitted with the extremely capable Chevrolet V8 engine. Sold new to Jim Miller, over the proceeding three seasons SE89P-003 would prove to be a cornerstone in the foundation of partnerships and building the careers of many of the powerhouses of US racing today.
Miller took delivery of the new SE89P-003, finished in yellow, and fitted a Katech built 5,500cc all aluminium Chevrolet V8 engine. With sponsorship from MTI Vacations, Miller ran SE89P-003 with his team, Jim Miller Racing in the IMSA GTP series.
The 1989 season got underway at Miami in March, where, driving solo, Miller qualified 11th but retired from the 3 Hours with engine issues. At Road Atlanta in early April, Miller shared with Bob Earl with the pair qualifying 7th but again retiring with engine failure. West Palm Beach yielded a result as Miller and Earl took a 4th place finish from 7th on the grid.
At Lime Rock in May they finished 8th, but retired from the Mid-Ohio 500km after CV joint failure. Watkins Glen in July saw SE89P-003 fitted with a larger 6,000cc Chevrolet engine. Miller and Earl qualified 4th and swiftly took 2nd place, beaten only by a Nissan. At Road America, the pairing finished 10th from an 8th place start and at the Portland 300km they finished 5th.
August saw the Topeka 300km and an 8th place finish. At San Antonio in September the duo were forced out of the running with electrical troubles, while Sears Point a week later saw a solid 6th place finish. As the IMSA season reached the final two rounds, SE89P-003’s form rose.
In the Tampa 360km, Miller and Earl qualified 5th before finishing 2nd, just 0.3 seconds away from the win, beating a selection of Porsche 962Cs and Nissans. The final round of the year came at Del Mar where Bob Earl, driving without Miller this time, wasted no time in qualifying 2nd. SE89P-003’s pace was quicker than Jochen Mass in a 962C and Jan Lammers’ Jaguar XJR10. Earl raced through to a 3rd place finish, SE89P-003’s third podium of the year against strong competition.
The Formation of Pratt & Miller
1989 also saw Jim Miller join forces with engineer Gary Pratt to form Pratt & Miller. Dan Binks was already part of their outfit and was Crew Chief on this car. Having used Chevrolet engines from their formation with SE89P-003, the relationship with GM would go on to blossom into the ultra successful Corvette Racing GT operation.
For 1990, SE89P-003 was developed from its 1989 guise with the help of Bob and Bill Riley. Bob Riley went on to form Riley & Scott with Mark Scott shortly after, one of the most well known US sports car manufacturers of the 1990s and 2000s. The front suspension was reworked, with the dampers moving from being mounted vertically inside the monocoque to lying flat across the top, with a different rocker ratio employed.
Amongst the modifications were the fitment of wider wheels and tyres, with the bodywork gaining extensions to cover the increased size. The nose was re-profiled with a defined splitter, large dive planes were fitted, the top louvres were widened and extended, a larger rear diffuser was fitted and a triple plane rear wing was developed to use alongside the twin plane version depending on the circuit. The livery remained yellow with MTI Vacations continuing their support of SE89P-003.
Competing in IMSA GTP, the new season began with the Miami Grand Prix in February. Miller was listed as a driver in the entry, however it was Wayne Taylor who drove SE89P-003 solo. Having qualified 7th, the race ended in retirement when the car overheated. Despite being entered for the Sebring 12 Hours under Carl Seaberg’s name, SE89P-003 did not arrive there.
Miller did drive at Road Atlanta in April, sharing with Taylor to qualify 10th and finish 9th. At the West Palm Beach 3 Hours, the pairing qualified 3rd and finished 4th. Wayne Taylor drove by himself at Topeka, starting 6th on the grid but retiring from the race with vibration issues.
At Lime Rock at the end of May, Miller and Taylor set 5th fastest time in qualifying. At the conclusion of the 150 laps, they finished a fine 2nd behind the Jaguar XJR10 of Price Cobb and John Nielsen. Mid-Ohio in June yielded a 4th place finish and at Watkins Glen, Taylor shared SE89P-003 with Albert Naon Jr. After qualifying 8th, they retired from the 500km race with suspension failure.
For the Sears Point 300km, SE89P-003 was fitted with a larger 6,500cc Chevrolet V8 engine by Katech. Naon Jr. drove alone, showing the car’s strong pace in qualifying with 2nd fastest time, however engine maladies prevented a result in the race. For the remaining five rounds of the season, Wayne Taylor drove SE89P-003 without a co-driver. At Portland, he finished 3rd overall, before taking 8th at Road America.
Taylor qualified 3rd at San Antonio in September but retired from the race with ignition problems. At Tampa, Taylor and SE89P-003 qualified 6th, only for the race to be ended by engine failure. The final round of the IMSA GTP season was again held at Del Mar, with Taylor setting 5th fastest time in qualifying, though suffered gearbox issues in the race.
Ahead of the 1991 season, Jim Miller wanted a new bespoke car and tasked Bob and Bill Riley with developing a new GTP car, built around the developing the maximum amount downforce possible. The new car took inspiration and lessons from the experience gained with SE89P-003 and was called the Intrepid.
The Intrepid was constructed by Pratt & Miller, who were by now running SE89P-003, which also received continual upgrades as the test bed for the Intrepid. The project attracted support by General Motors with their Chevrolet brand, and works NASCAR driver Tommy Kendall was made available to Miller’s team.
With latest generation Katech built Chevrolet V8s making a reputed 800bhp, both SE89P-003 and the Intrepid were liveried in yellow, blue and white with Chevrolet, ICI, Mobil 1 and MTI Vacations branding.
The 1991 IMSA season got underway at West Palm Beach on the first weekend in March with a two hour race. Kendall, clearly at home in SE89P-003, posted the fastest time of qualifying to line up in pole position, outdoing the Jaguars, Nissans and Eagles. At the conclusion of the race, Kendall and SE89P-003 were classified 4th.
Next was the Miami 2 Hours in early April. Kendall set 4th fastest time in SE89P-003, and in the race so nearly took the victory. As the final laps approached, Kendall took significant time out of Raul Boesel’s lead with his Jaguar XJR10. On the penultimate lap, Kendall made several attempts to get past on the tight road course, but wasn’t able to. The margin of just 0.767 seconds separated SE89P-003 and the Jaguar XJR10 which just came out on top.
At Road Atlanta, Kendall qualified 8th in SE89P-003 before going on to finish 7th in the 300km race there. SE89P-003’s last race of its contemporary career came at Topeka in May 1991. Kendall set 9th fastest time and took 7th at the flag.
Return To The Track
By this time, the second Intrepid chassis had been completed and SE89P-003 was retired from service. Miller retained SE89P-003 in his collection until 1994 when he sold it to Ron Ciaravella. Ciaravella, a racer also based in the USA, then proceeded to continue SE89P-003’s competitive ways, racing in nearly every season until 2010.
SE89P-003 was then bought by Peter McLaughlin of New Hampshire, USA. McLaughlin, who also owned other Spice GTP cars at the time, had SE89P-003 maintained at GMT Racing in Connecticut. McLaughlin drove SE89P-003, still in the 1991 livery, at events including the 2016 Targa 66. In 2017, preparation of SE89P-003 moved to K-Hill Motorsports in Pennsylvania.
In October 2017, SE89P-003 was bought by the current owner and was shipped to the UK. Having raced several other Group C cars in the preceding years, including a Spice SE8C Cosworth C1 car, SE89P-003 was seen as the ultimate practical Group C car with superior power, huge torque and an advanced aero package thanks to Pratt & Miller and Riley’s development to this individual chassis.
On arrival to the United Kingdom, SE89P-003 underwent preparation for a campaign in historic Group C racing with Peter Auto’s series. With CGA Race Engineering, now known as Front Row Racing, carrying out the work, crack testing was completed and SE89P-003 was built back up in time for a shakedown test at Donington Park in May 2018.
The current owner made his race debut with SE89P-003 at the Peter Auto Spa Classic two weeks later, taking a 6th place finish in the second race of the weekend. At Imola in October, SE89P-003 qualified 5th and finished the second race in the same position.
For the 2019 Group C season, SE89P-003 was re-liveried to the yellow MTI Vacations scheme of 1990 and new FIA HTPs were obtained for the 1990 specification. Importantly, variation pages were completed, allowing the use of either high or low downforce aero set-ups. Further work included the fabrication of a new stainless steel exhaust system by BC Fabrications.
The 2019 season got underway with a test at Monza in March, and the first Group C round of the year was held at Barcelona in April. Having qualified 8th, the current owner won the first race and took 3rd place in the second contest.
At Spa, SE89P-003 and the current owner took a double victory, with a healthy margin to 2nd on both occasions. The next round in the series was held at the Hungaroring in July, and another 1st place was added to the tally, with a 2nd secured in race two. Monza in September saw a 4th place and a DNF, however SE89P-003’s advantage in the championship wasn’t harmed.
The season ending weekend at Paul Ricard yielded a 4th place in the first race and 3rd in the second, delivering enough points to secure both the overall Group C championship and the C1A class championship for the current owner. SE89P-003 had outperformed an assortment of exotic Group C cars consistently through the season.
The engine, known as Wanted Man, went for rebuild at Hertel Racing Engines in South Carolina, USA and was dyno’d at 825bhp with 685lb/ft torque. The Penske dampers were rebuilt and dyno’d, with the dyno sheet present in the file.
In 2022, it took part in the Group C1 standalone race put on by DHRofgo at the Donington Historic Festival. SE89P-003 then raced at the Le Mans Classic amongst an impressive 42 car field, in what was it’s most recent outing.
Today, SE89P-003 has approximately 4 hours running on the engine and sports current FIA HTPs which remain valid until December 2029. A useful spares package accompanies the car, including a spare nose, one tail, the triple plane rear wing, two spare sets of wheels, wishbones and suspension components, and other running spares.
SE89P-003 stands apart from a usual example of a Spice Group C car thanks to the pioneering development by Pratt & Miller with Bob Riley and helped further by Chevrolet’s input. Not only does it benefit from very strong power and torque, far more than a Cosworth engined car, but also the mechanical and aerodynamic package which is unique to this car.
The results of 1990 and 1991 go to show just how fast SE89P-003 was, beating Porsche, Jaguar and Nissan with regularity, and the results of 2019 demonstrate how fast and accessible the performance still is today. With the Le Mans Classic usually featuring a standalone Group C race, SE89P-003 would be a thundering experience at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
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