Good things come to those who wait: In January 2020, at the 24-hour race in Daytona, the ACO and IMSA announced a new top group consisting of LMDh cars according to US regulations and hypercars according to FIA/ACO regulations. From the first day there were also rumors about the entry of Lamborghini.
Initially, the prototype project of the Italian sports car brand was supposed to be announced in January 2021, at that time still as the second use of the VW Group platform developed by Porsche. Finally, it took until mid-May for the brand, which belongs to the VW Group, to finally confirm the entry for 2024.
Unlike previous plans for 2021, Lamborghini will start the program on its own and will not use the Porsche LMDh platform. With this new project, from 2024 Lamborghini will not only fight for class victories in GT3 races, but eventually also for overall victories in long-distance classic sports such as Le Mans, Daytona or Sebring.
“Moving to the top class of endurance racing is an important step in Lamborghini’s history,” said CEO Stephan Winkelmannn. “In the future, we will test ourselves against the strongest competitors in the most important long-distance races in the world. By entering the LMDh class, we will gain more visibility for our sports program, and we can also test future technologies for our road sports cars. at a new high level.”
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With the GT3 Huracan, Lamborghini has been successful in the long-distance segment for some time.
Hybrid heart with 681 hp
On Tuesday (September 20), the manufacturer finally published the first technical information on the planned model. Based on this, the new racing bull is powered by a biturbo backed V8 hybrid. The device is said to have a total output of 681 hp through a seven-speed Xtrac gearbox to the rear wheels and, according to regulations, must weigh at least 180 kg.
The question of the driver, ie the main part that comes directly from the manufacturer in the new American concept of LMDh/GTP, is an important factor in the construction of a new high class: derivation from the series is desirable, but not absolute. important.
Big manufacturers like Porsche or BMW can go back to old racing engines because the direct brand relationship is not the goal. Small manufacturers like Lamborghini have to build a class of production sports car engines, because otherwise no one would understand the commitment. That’s why Lamborghini’s announcement that it will use a V8 biturbo in the next LMDH/GTP is so surprising.
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In addition to the LMDh project and the GT3 racer, there is also an in-house production cup “Lamborghini Super Trofeo”.
V8 biturbo like in the Huracan series?
Lamborghini announced that the V8 biturbo will be built directly at Squadro Corse’s in-house racing department. So far, only the Urus model has been driven with a V8 biturbo from Audi’s shelf, and it has a bank angle of 90 degrees – just like the Lambo’s race-rated engine. It is quite possible that at least the engine layout is an Audi derivative.
Sources from the VW Group indicate that from a marketing point of view, the use of an SUV engine in the GTP concept makes little sense. Therefore, rumors suggest that The successor to the Huracanwhich is scheduled to debut in 2025, will have a V8 biturbo, which means that the legendary 5.2-liter V10 engine should have its day.
Lamborghini is in good company with this idea: Porsche and BMW also rely on V8 biturbo engines, Cadillac uses a naturally aspirated V8 engine. Lamborghini intends to present the final GTP concept in the spring of 2023 and begin testing immediately thereafter to start in the WEC and IMSA series from 2024.
Porsche LMDh racer: prototype test photos
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The way itself and the chassis
And what about the chassis? Here, Lamborghini is collaborating with LMP2 designer Ligier, which was officially announced as part of the 2022 Le Mans 24-hour race. The carbon parts are manufactured in Italy by supplier HP Composites.
Insiders had already expected that Lamborghini would follow its own technical path with the LMDh project and not fall back on the group equipment developed by Porsche: “We had the freedom to decide if we wanted to put our car on the Porsche platform”, says Winkelman. . “Now we have an opportunity to take our point of view and we have taken that opportunity without adding unnecessary costs.”
A special challenge in designing the Lamborghini LMDh will be to translate the unique angular design language of the Lamborghini brand into the independent brand shape of the LMDh model. Angular shapes are not always the best way from an aerodynamic point of view.
After all, the dimensions are already known: the wheelbase is set at 3.148 meters. Maximum width (2.00 meters) and height (5.10 meters) are also mentioned in the regulations. Looking at the finished car, fans will have to wait until May 2023. Only then should the prototype be officially presented and testing begin. Homologation should be done by the end of 2023.
The exact date of the LMDh car’s first race has also not been set. Those involved confirm that the goal is to be at the start of the 24 hours race at Le Mans in the 2024 season. So it would be right for the race to be contested in WEC and IMSA beforehand. However, it is not yet clear if the prototype will be ready for the IMSA season opener, the 24-hour race at Daytona, in January 2024. The race debut may also come later, depending on the final car development plan.
Created by SeanBull
What would a Lamborghini Le Mans prototype look like? Designer Sean Bull let loose here.
Is Lambo compatible with Iron Lynx/Prema?
In this context, sporting director Giorgio Sanna made it clear that Lamborghini views the LMDh project as a customer game: “Lamborghini’s motorsport philosophy is very clearly based on a customer game approach, which is how we have approached it in GT3 racing , and this. is how we will do it in the LMDh class, which means that we will not include full works teams, but we will identify reference teams in WEC and IMSA that we will work closely with.”
Rumors have been circulating recently in the paddock that a collaboration between the Iron Lynx/Prema team and Lamborghini is on the way. Of course, those involved in Lamborghini are keeping quiet about this. Lambo CEO Winkelmann’s statement that the new independent project will not lead to increased costs, even though Lamborghini does not use the Porsche platform, points the way straight.
Early in the spring, on the sidelines of the Sebring race, it was heard that the Iron Lynx team wanted to enter a new class of endurance racing, and that with a well-known manufacturer. A war chest is emerging at Iron Lynx via the well-heeled owners of the racing team. In the past, the developers are said to even be flirting with the purchase of an F1 racing team – as well as a greater commitment to endurance racing.
It is therefore quite legitimate to speculate that Iron Lynx, who are said to have previously held talks with Ferrari and Mercedes about the use of supercars, could contribute part of the development costs for Lamborghini’s LMDh project. Such a star would be ideal for a small manufacturer like Lamborghini.
