(N) K733 - 1/12scale Fulldetail kit : C9 LM’89

The Sauber team first entered endurance racing under the leadership of Peter Sauber in the 1970s, including the 24 hours of Le Mans starting in 1977. The team shifted to F3 for a short period, but would continue to join endurance racing in the 1980s. In 1985 Sauber formed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz for the development of their new car, the Sauber C8. Mercedes, who have moved away from motorsports ever since the 1955 Le Mans disaster, provided the team with V8 turbo engines based on their road car engines, replacing the BMW engines that the Sauber team had been using up till that point. The C8 would race in 1985 and 1986, and in 1987 it was upgraded to and replaced by the C9.

With Mercedes officially returning to the sport in 1988, the C9 was re-outfitted in the German silver colour for 1989, replacing the sponsor colours it had been dressed in up will then. While using a carbon monocoque became mainstream in that era, the C9 used an aluminum monocoque which proved to be more reliable. In the 1989 Le Mans the car would dominate rivals Jaguar, Porche and Mazda, marking the first victory for the team and a Le Mans victory for Mercedes after a 37 year break.