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Lamborghini confirms Le Mans Daytona hybrid entry for 2024

Last August, Racer magazine reported that Lamborghini had green-lit a project to put a car in global endurance racing's Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) class, but wasn't ready to announce it yet. The brand's head of motorsport for the U.S. said at the time that work on a factory endurance program was "90 percent of the way there." Now, the last 10 percent has been completed, and the Sant' Agata Bolognese carmaker announced its LMDh car will start racing in 2024. The class, developed by the U.S. IMSA organization in collaboration with France's ACO, begins competing next year. Here's the refresher on the top to endurance racing categories, LMDh and Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), both of which are allowed to run in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. 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 is limited to about 680. VW sister brand Porsche opted for a Multimatic chassis powered by a turbocharged V8. Sportscar365 believes Lamborghini will buy a Ligier chassis. Since the R8 and its V10 are headed for the dustbin, Lamborghini could use a V8 as well. Every team creates 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. As the teaser shows, Lamborghinis on the track will be known by their Y-shaped DRL signatures, too.  Audi had been planning an LMDh entry, but dropped out when it confirmed its eventual entry into Formula 1. So for the moment, Lamborghini will join other LMDh manufacturers Acura, Alpine — which will switch from its current LMH car to LMDh in 2024, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche. That latter brand is also going into F1, but hasn't axed any other programs. 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, held to the same drag-to-downforce ratio limit. The current LMH entries are Alpine, our own Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, and Toyota.

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ First Drive Review | Worth its weight in carbon fiber

Relentless. If we were to define Lamborghini in 2018, this is the word we'd choose. Led by the indefatigable head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani, the engineering team at Sant'Agata Bolognese are constantly iterating current models — futzing, enhancing, testing. Give them a problem and they'll hammer away at it. The Aventador has been one of those problems. The V12 flagship was released in 2011 and shone far more for its sharp-edged Lambo-tastic design than its sharp handling. If we were looking for a word to describe that first iteration, we'd say ... wanting. Which brings us to the Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal on a sunny day in September. We're here to drive the new Aventador SVJ, first shown this year at Pebble Beach. It is the fourth major non-roadster model, following the SV and the S. Lamborghini promises that the SVJ is the ultimate Aventador. The fixed Aventador. Or mostly, says Reggiani. "I'm not that arrogant to say that everything is perfect. There's always something that could be better." He shrugs, then smiles. "But our goal is to synchronize all the improvements and create something unique, something special." The SVJ's naturally breathing V12 makes 759 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is 217 mph, and 62 mph arrives in 2.8 seconds. The price, without taxes or extra bits of carbon fiber or seats in novel shades of purple, starts at $517,770. Reggiani and friends have come to the conclusion that the obvious formula of shedding weight while adding power can only take you so far. (That's what they did with the SV and it's only middling.) Hence the SVJ gets every new trick that the company has engineered as of late, including aero vectoring, rear-wheel-steer and all-wheel-drive. And it's already netted results. The SVJ snatched the production-car 'Ring record from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with a time of 6:44.97. The track surface at Estoril was resurfaced only weeks ago, and oils from the asphalt are weeping out onto the surface. This has caused great consternation among the Lamborghini camp, as grip is closer to driving on glass than nice stubbly tarmac. On my first set of laps, a pro driver suggests that I leave the car in sport mode, which sends more power to the rear wheels. "Easier to turn in," he suggests, as the front wheels are having trouble gaining traction on the slick surface.

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.