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Lamborghini close to joining premier LMDh class in IMSA

According to Racer magazine, Lamborghini hasn't officially said yes to joining the LMDh class in global endurance racing, but folks behind the scenes have green-lit the project and an announcement could come next month. Publicly, the brand's head of motorsport for the U.S. said work on a factory endurance program is "90% of the way there," the remainder to be sorted out by finding the right customer teams to lead the charge. Assuming this is what happens, Lamborghini will join Volkswagen Group siblings Audi and Porsche in the class, plus Acura and BMW. Cadillac hasn't made its intentions public, but observers expect the American luxury brand to come clean during this month's 24 Hours of Le Mans and show its LMDh challenger. Hyundai's apparently on the sidelines and leaning in, too. If all are counted, this would give the premier class for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship seven entries come 2024, and potentially add to the top-class LMH field in the FIA World Endurance Championship . As a refresher, there are two top-tier classes coming to global endurance racing. There's Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) that begins in IMSA next year, and Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) that started competing in the WEC on May 1 this year. LMDh cars use a spec chassis provided by one of four suppliers, Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic, or Oreca. LMDh teams can use any engine and electronics they want, but they will all fit a spec hybrid unit supplied by Bosch, a spec lithium-ion battery from Williams Engineering and a spec gearbox from Xtrac. Max horsepower will be limited to about 680. Audi and Porsche opted for a Multimatic chassis powered by a turbocharged V8, and Lamborghini is expected to follow its family members. Every team can create its own bodywork, the limit being a 4:1 ratio of drag to downforce and a single aero package for the year to keep costs down. The LMH class is based on roadgoing hypercars, a manufacturer required to sell 20 of the retail hypercars over a two-year period to qualify. Although output's capped to around 680 hp as with LMDh, manufacturers can develop their own engines, gearboxes and hybrid systems. Discrete bodywork is allowed with the same drag-to-downforce ratio limit. There will be balance-of-performance restrictions imposed on LMDh and LMH fields, and measures such as torque meters mounted on driveshafts to monitor overall output of each powertrain.

Watch Tesla Model X P100D drag race Lamborghini Aventador SV

It's always fun to see the performance capabilities of electric vehicles, and we haven't yet tired of watching Teslas go up against supercars, street racers, even airplane s, win or lose. DragTimes fed the world another Tesla drag race video this week, pitting a Tesla Model X P100D with Ludicrous+ against a Lamborghini Aventador SV powered by a 6.5-liter V12 (and worth $530,000) in a quarter-mile challenge at Palm Beach International Raceway. The Model X gets a better start off the line, and ends up finishing just 0.05 seconds ahead of the Lamborghini (which was quickly catching up at the end). While the Lamborghini was technically faster (with an elapsed time of 11.281 seconds and a speed of 129.38 miles per hour), the Model X finished the quarter mile in 11.418 seconds at 117.95 miles per hour, which DragTimes notes is a world record for an SUV. The difference in the sound between the two vehicles is striking, as we find from the separate camera views. The Lamborghini absolutely screams, while the Tesla just whistles in the wind a bit. After the Model X, the Lamborghini takes on a Model S P100D. It almost looks like the Aventador jumps the gun a bit (but it doesn't get a red light, and shows a reaction time of just .008 seconds with some well-timed wheel spin), and ends up finishing 0.15 seconds ahead of the Model S. The Tesla's elapsed time was 10.947 seconds at 119.71 mph, while the Lamborghini's ET was 11.164 seconds at 129.08 mph. These races showcase the mighty acceleration of the P100D Teslas. While the traditionally powered supercar is faster at the high end, the low-end shove of the EVs prove them to be great drag cars, even weighing over 5,000 pounds. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: YouTube: DragTimes via Teslarati Green Motorsports Lamborghini Tesla Green Automakers SUV Electric Supercars Videos world record drag race lamborghini aventador sv p100d

Lamborghini prototype's exhaust suggests Aventador Performante is in the works

Lamborghini made waves with the introduction of its Huracan Performante, and more specifically, its stunning Nurburgring lap time that challenged million-dollar hypercars. Now, based on these new spy shots, it seems Lamborghini will build upon the success of the Huracan with a Performante version of the bigger, more powerful Aventador. Although the early roadster and later coupe look stock, they feature an exhaust that gives away what's under the skin. At the back, we can see the standard center-exit exhaust used on every normal Aventador, and even the previous top-tier Aventador, the SV. But above that is a strange metal box with slats and a pair of circles cut out. This box appears to hide the car's real exhaust. And if that's the case, they're positioned in the very same location as on the smaller Huracan Performante. Using the Huracan Performante as a model, we expect the Aventador version will make more horsepower than the regular Aventador S. The Huracan Performante made 28 more horsepower than the standard all-wheel-drive version, so we wouldn't be surprised to see just as much of an increase for the Aventador, which would put it at about 770 horsepower. The Aventador Performante will also likely use the Huracan's fancy active aerodynamics that can adjust downforce on the left and right sides independently in corners, and naturally there will be a giant wing at the back. Another interesting thing to note about these prototypes is the use of both a coupe and a roadster. We've seen a nearly production-ready Huracan Performante Spyder out testing, so it wouldn't be out of the question for Lamborghini to do the same for the Aventador. But it's surprising to see Lamborghini testing one this early when we only ever saw Huracan prototypes in coupe guise ahead of the coupe's full reveal. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Aventador Performante Spy Shots View 15 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Lamborghini Convertible Coupe Future Vehicles Supercars