Larrousse & Calmels was formed in 1987 by former racer and motorsport manager Gérard Larrousse and the French businessman Didier Calmels. They commissioned a car from Lola, and the result was the LC87, designed by Eric Broadley and Ralph Bellamy. It was closely related to Lola's then-current Formula 5000 car, and was powered by the 3.5-litre Ford Cosworth DFZ engine, through a Hewland FGB gearbox. The LC87 was an overweight car, but weight-saving measures were planned to take place throughout the season.

As a non-turbocharged car, Larrousse and the LC87 were eligible for a subsidiary championship for normally-aspirated cars, the Colin Chapman Trophy. The team initially ran a single car for Philippe Alliot, but a second car appeared towards the end of the season, to be driven by another Frenchman, debutant Yannick Dalmas. Alliot was eligible for the drivers' equivalent of the Colin Chapman Trophy, the Jim Clark Cup.

Missing the first race of the season, the LC87 debuted at the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix. Qualifying 22nd on the grid, and second-fastest of the normally-aspirated cars, Alliot finished the race in tenth position despite being delayed when Pascal Fabre spun. At the second race in Belgium, Alliot qualified 20th and finished eighth, and first in his class, leaving him and Lola second in the normally-aspirated class championship tables. The team susbsequently made weight-saving developments to the car, reducing it to 512 kg. However, the car's first retirement came in the next race in Monaco, where Alliot qualified 18th, but retired on lap 43 of the race with engine failure while running 14th. At the next race in Detroit, Alliot started 20th and improved to 11th on race day before crashing into a wall while trying to pass René Arnoux. The retirements dropped Lola to third in the Colin Chapman Trophy, and Alliot to fourth in the Jim Clark Cup.

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