The vehicle was developed in accordance with the ACO and FIA rules applicable in 2005 so that it is eligible to start in all sports car races up to and including 2010. Although the name Courage remembers F1 driver Piers Courage, it’s due to the founder of Courage Compétition : Yves Courage. The type designation LC stands for Lillian Courage, the wife of Yves Courage who died in 2004. During development, however, Courage Compétition has been taken over by ORECA, so the original name Courage LC70 has been changed.
Courage officially unveiled the prototype at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. The car has been designed to compete in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes with minor modifications. The LC75 is almost identical in construction to the LC70.
The car uses a six-speed gearbox from Xtrac. The engines are sourced from various suppliers such as AER, Mugen, or Judd. In 2008 the aerodynamics of the LC70 has been significantly revised by ORECA. For example, the central air intake at the front was converted into two lateral ones in the wheel arches. In addition, the front spoiler has been heavily modified. A project by students from Tokai University brought further significant changes, modifying the entire aerodynamics while retaining the underbody and monocoque for their 2008 Le Mans participation, and using a YGK engine for the first time.
The LC70 made its racing debut in the hands of Swiss Spirit at 1000 km of Istanbul in 2006, equipped with a Judd V10. Courage Competition itself relied on a brand new V8 unit from Mugen. In 2006, the LC70 finished 2nd overall at the 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps and 3rd overall at the 1000 km of Jarama.
In 2007, the LC70 competed in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 26th overall. In 2008, the car finished 8th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LC70 secured 6th place in the LMP1 Constructors' Championship for the Le Mans Series in 2008.
The chassis also found success in the Japan Le Mans Challenge. An LC70 used by Mugen won the 1000 km of Okayama in 2007.
During the 2008 1000 km of Monza, Stéphane Ortelli had a serious accident when his LC70 under-inflated before the first chicane and took off.
The LC75 chassis served as the foundation for the Acura ARX-01a and ARX-01b. In 2007, three LC75 chassis were purchased for Acura's entry into the American Le Mans Series. These chassis were further developed by Acura itself, with another chassis added for De Ferran Motorsports in 2008.
All built chassis of the LC70 or the LC75 were numbered consecutively, since they are largely identical. So chassis 2 was converted from LC70 to type LC75. In 2006, no cars finished at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This article is based solely on the provided corpus. No external sources were consulted. Information regarding specific race results beyond those explicitly stated in the corpus could not be verified.