At a glance, you wouldn't identify this car as a Lamborghini. LMDh race cars have rules to follow, but you will see Lambo-like lighting elements nestled into body panels with sharp lines. There's certainly no missing the tremendous wing and vertical tail fin at the back. And then there's the color – Verde Mantis with a racing stripe honoring the Italian flag. It's the Lamborghini SC63, and it should stand out when it goes racing next year.
This is the racing machine Lamborghini has been teasing for many months now. It may not look like a Lambo at a glance, but as you study it, familiar styling cues come forward. We already mentioned the Y-shaped lights, a relatively recent trend from the Italian supercar brand. The monocoque chassis comes from Liger – LMDh rules require all cars to have a chassis from a select group of suppliers – but Lamborghini's Centro Stile design group combined functional components with Countach-styled NACA ducts, Revuelto wheel arches, among other items.
Gallery: Lamborghini SC63 LMDh
Powering this car is an entirely new engine from the halls of Lamborghini, made specifically for the racing program. It's a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 with turbos mounted outside the engine for better cooling, maintenance, and weight distribution. We aren't told how much power the engine makes on its own, but with the class-mandated hybrid system, the total output sits at the maximum allowed – 671 horsepower. The hybrid components include a motor generator and battery with a Bosch electronic control unit. A common transmission is used among all LMDh cars, but Lamborghini adjusted gear ratios to best suit its purposes.
Two SC63 race cars will ultimately take to the track. One will campaign a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2024, with the other heading to IMSA for events in the North American Endurance Championship. They will be part of the Iron Lynx team, which already has Lamborghini experience with a Huracan GT3 Evo 2 in IMSA and the GT World Challenge Europe series.
The SC63 isn't race-ready just yet, however. Testing will continue, leading up to the car's debut for the 2024 racing season. Lamborghini will seek glory with factory drivers Mirko Bortolotti and Andrea Caldarelli, along with newcomers Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean who hail from the Formula 1 world.
"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," said Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann. "The opportunity to compete in some of the biggest endurance races in the world with a hybrid prototype fits with our vision for the future of high-performance mobility, as demonstrated for road-legal cars with the launch of the Revuelto. The SC63 LMDh is the step into the highest echelons and into the future of motorsports for our Squadra Corse."
See the Lamborghini SC63 at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, running July 13-16.
