1979 Hades Epoch - The strange, the odd, and the remarkable 2
cars by @UnderlovedGhost
The Exhaust Note is invited to a Hades Automobile Event. Yours truly gave up his free time to spend a number of hard working days enjoying Paris and visiting the Bugatti Circuit and the Musée des 24 Heures du Mans in Le Mans. Stars of the event are Hades Motorsport Global Display group’s 1979-1984 Hades Epoch Group 5 ‘Jägermeister’ and the 1979/80 Hades Epoch H-XX Concept based on the same platform.
French company Hades – founded by Étienne Laporte, but gaining reputation under his son, Hugo Laporte – is famous for its sport and race cars. Initially focussing on large V16 engine, the Epoch started a switch towards smaller turbo-charged V8 engines.
This is the JAGE4 chassis, a 1984 replacement of a crashed 1979 crashed JAGE2 chassis built for Group 5 racing. The Jägermeister Hades Epoch was one of two launch teams for the Epoch Group 5 programme from 1979 to 1984. The Distinctive orange pair of cars were run in the WSC and were respectful competitors when they were not failing due to general reliability issues with the engine and gearbox.
This particular car competed in the 1984 and 1985 24h of Le Mans – not the first venture of Hades there by any means, with the Hades Zariel kicking off quite a habit there in 1983; the Zariel being equipped with one of the characteristic 8 litre V16 engines – and continued racing in the IMSA until 1988. Afterwards it was stored at La Castelet, the storage and museum facility of Hades. But since 2010 it has been restored and is touring events in Europe and Asia.
The real treat we’re here for is this one off Concept car that Hades toured around the world for auto shows until 1981, and between 2006 and 2010. This H-XX Concept was built on the same platform as the Group 5 car and the design is reminiscent of the open roofed, high speed Can-Am cars of the 1960s. Now part of the Hades Motorsport Global Display group, it is being displayed internationally at major events, such as Pebble Beach, Goodwood Revival, and the Le Mans Classic.
The design of the concept follows the same aerodynamic nose of the Group 5 Epoch, which differs significantly from the limited production model. The two large, low-set headights really give it that distinctive look. In both cars the rest of the design flow follows the airflow into the mid-transversally positioned engine and over the giant rear wing – the Concept really upping the downforce over the Group 5 car.
Both of these cars are in working order, powered still by the original 3996 cc flat-plane V8 double overhead cams special racing engine. It is a good old fashioned turbo-charged racing engine, and that means it is extremely unresponsive at low and medium engine speeds, and then suddenly all 510 of the horsepowers are suddenly there – potentially blowing up the turbo or the gearbox, as has happened when these cars were racing. Innovative was the electronically controlled ignition system, which was an innovation compared to the mechanical fuel injection systems used more often at that time in racing engines, which made the Hades racing V8 cheaper to produce and maintain – read: rebuild after races.
Now driving the Group 5 car: it’s loud, it’s uncomfortable, it’s scary. We loved it! The one racing seat is just a bare plastic cup seat. At least it gives decent lateral support. The drive itself, although we didn’t go full flat out for safety reasons, is remarkably stable. Sure, the power kicks in suddenly at around 6k rpm, but it does not make the Epoch unpredictable. We found it actually a very competent car still on the track. We have heard the Concept has a stranger tuned suspension and the influence of the increased downforce is not fully balanced to the front downforce, but then again; this was a show car and not tuned perfectly to racing spec.
