After a rather disastrous 1987 season, the Ligier team prepared a completely new car for 1988. Rather unconventional, the JS31 unfortunately showed several problems, due to the structure itself of the project, which revealed insurmountable gaps. Its drivers, René Arnoux and Stefan Johansson, failed to qualify eight times over the course of the 1988 season and the team's best results were two ninth places, both achieved by Johansson.