The Ligier JS17 was a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Michel Beaujon for use by the Ligier team during the 1981 season. Powered by a Talbot-badged Matra V12, the JS17 was driven to two Grand Prix wins by Jacques Laffite. It was updated to JS17B specification for the 1982 season until it was replaced later that year by the JS19.

The JS17 was designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Michel Beaujon and initially carried conventional suspension. Later on in the season, the team adopted a hydro-pneumatic system to lower the car on track but this did not work effectively until the Belgium race. After two years of using the Cosworth DFV, for the 1981 season, team owner Guy Ligier had arranged a supply of Talbot-badged Matra V12 engines. The V12 engine, designated the MS81 and newly developed by Georges Martin, initially generated an average of 510 bhp at 12,500 rpm. This was gradually improved by Martin, and by the end of the year the MS81 was revving at 13,000 rpm. A total of six JS17s were built throughout the year, the last of these being introduced at the Italian Grand Prix.

The JS17 continued service into 1982 as an updated JS17B. Matra had hoped to introduce a turbocharged V6 but this never eventuated and the team continued with the MS81. All four of the surviving chassis from the previous year were rebuilt and stiffened. The JS17B was one of the heavier cars on the grid for 1982.

Regular Ligier driver Jacques Laffite was joined by Jean-Pierre Jabouille, a race winner for Renault, for 1981. However, the latter had not yet recovered from injuries sustained in a crash the previous year and so Jean-Pierre Jarier was contracted for the first race of the year in the United States. Both drivers qualified in mid-field, Jarier ahead of Laffite, but failed to finish the race itself. Jabouille tried to drive at the following race in Brazil but was still unfit and Jarier had to stand in again. He finished seventh behind Laffite, who scored the car's first points finish with sixth place.

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