Lamborghini has confirmed it is entering the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship from 2024, and has unveiled its all-new ‘SC63’ V8 racing car that will take on these competitions.
And yes that means Lamborghini is going to compete in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. It will enter these championships in the LMDh category with a brand new racing car that features a bespoke V8 engine.
The engine is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that has been designed and developed specifically for these racing categories. It uses what’s known as a ‘cold V’ layout whereby the exhaust and turbochargers are mounted on the outside of the block, in an older-style layout.
Lamborghini says this layout was adopted to meet various demands of motorsport, including keeping the centre of gravity as low as possible and managing heat and aerodynamics. This configuration also supports easier service.
Paired up with the engine is an electric motor assist hybrid system, and it’s all managed by a Bosch electronic control unit. It also runs an Energy Recovery System and Energy Storage System, cooled by its own radiator. All of this runs with a standard transmission, battery and electric motor in accordance with class regulations.
The new power system produces 500kW of power, which is the regulation for its racing categories. Although the new 3.8-litre V8 is not designed for production cars, it is expected to inspire a future power unit as part of Lamborghini’s transition to electrification. Lamborghini boss, Stephan Winkelmann, said:
“The SC63 is the most advanced racing car ever produced by Lamborghini and it follows our roadmap ‘Direzione Cor Tauri’ laid out by the brand for the electrification of our product range.”
Lamborghini is launching a hybrid version of the Urus in 2024, however, it is expected to use the existing 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. A hybrid package is available within its parent company, VW Group, with Porsche using the 4.0-litre V8 for its plug-in hybrid Cayenne Turbo S E Hybrid.
The new 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 could inspire the new power unit for the next-gen Huracan, though. Its successor is expected to drop the V10 and switch to a twin-turbo V8. A debut is expected some time in 2024. However, specific powertrain details are yet to be officially announced.
Speaking about the possible technology transfer to production cars from the SC63, Lamborghini’s chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, said:
“As we develop our LMDh car, we are also mindful of the technology transfer opportunities. We will take our learning experiences from motorsport and apply them where possible to our future production cars.”
Lamborghini will be running two SC63 racing cars. One will compete in the World Endurance Championship from next year, and the other will race in the IMSA events in the North American Endurance Championship. Lamborghini has partnered with Iron Lynx motorsport team for racing.