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This is the Lamborghini SC63: the Italian brand’s LMDh hybrid racing prototype that will be the marque’s contender in the 2024 World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the SC63 will take on legendary endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours in the top class of endurance racing, putting it up against the likes of Toyota, Porsche, Peugeot, Cadillac, and this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Ferrari.
The LMDh has seen an influx of manufacturers entering or returning to the World Endurance Championship, partly because costs have been kept in check thanks to many standardised components, including the gearbox, battery and motor generator unit (MGU) for the hybrid system. However, the Lamborghini is able to select its own gear ratios and differential settings.
The engine, however, is Lomborghini's own: an all-new 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8. The turbos are mounted outside the vee angle of the cylinders. A “hot vee'' engine, which places the turbos between the two cylinder banks, tends to shorten the route for the exhaust gases to flow before reaching the turbine, which can reduce lag, Lamborghini says its configuration lowers the centre of mass, and makes the turbos easier to cool and - crucially for an endurance race - service. Power for the full hybrid system output is capped at 671bhp by the rules.
Lamborghini has partnered with Ligier for its chassis, and has clothed the structure in its unique body, designed by Lamborghini’s Centro Stile department with consultation from the race team. As a result, it carries some road-car design cues including the Y-shaped LED lighting signature at the front and rear. The car is finished in the bright green already used on its GT3 cars. Well-known GT3 squad Iron Lynx will run the cars. Among the drivers that will take to the wheel are ex-F1 drivers Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean, plus Lamborghini factory drivers Mirko Bortolotti and Andrea Caldarelli.
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