Home Featured Ligier absorbs fellow constructor Mygale, announces new FRegional car

Ligier absorbs fellow constructor Mygale, announces new FRegional car

by Ida Wood

Photos: FR Americas

Formula Regional and Formula 4 chassis manufacturer Mygale has entered 2025 under changed ownership, as Ligier has become its majority shareholder.

Ligier competed in Formula 1 from 1976 to 1996, taking nine wins and 41 other podiums as well as being runner-up in the constructors’ standings in the 1980 season.

Since then it has primarily built prototype sportscars, with its designs raced across the globe. Its LMP3 cars are now most commonly seen, since it last developed a car to LMP2 regulations back in 2017.

Its North American subsidiary made the Ligier JS F4 car for United States Formula 4 and Ligier JS F3 car for Formula Regional Americas in the two following years, with the latter chassis entering its seventh season of use while a second-generation F4 car was released last year but proved unpopular compared to its predecessor.

French neighbour Mygale also has a lengthy history in single-seaters, starting off with Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Ford cars in the 1990s then expanding into Formula BMW, USF2000 and eventually Formula 3 in the 2000s.

During the 2010s it focused on entry-level categories again, developing chassis for FFord and Formula 1600 series and designing the Mygale M14-F4 for the FIA’s new F4 category. In 2021 it was succeded by the halo-shod M21-F4, which is used in the Chinese, French and Indian F4 championships.

Ligier has been a minority shareholder in Mygale since 2013, and the agreement to take a majority stake in its fellow manufacturer was completed in late December 2024. Its president Jacques Nicolet said the takeover “allows us to unite two complementary forces, creating a stronger and more ambitious player in formula racing”.

Mygale will therefore no longer exist, with Nicolet wanting to “deliver a more cohesive offering under the Ligier brand while continuing to innovate and expand our global presence” as he rebrands the Mygale chassis as Ligier designs over an unspecified time period. Ligier also announced its second-generation FRegional chassis will be released next year.

Bertrand Decoster, the founder of Mygale, will be the managing director going forward.

“This step ensures the continuity of 35 years of development and success in formula racing,” he said. “Beyond that, joining forces with Ligier Automotive allows us to grow into a company of over 130 motorsport specialists, enabling us to target all formula racing markets.”