Lamborghini will soon enter the top level of sports car racing with a brand new LMDh prototype race car which is currently under development. The Sant'Agata Bolognese-based supercar manufacturer teases the new LMDh prototype with a single preview image and an official statement announcing Lambo’s prototype racing program.
For the uninitiated, LMDh stands for Le Mans Dayton hybrid and is the name of the new motorsport category debuting in 2023. It gives the possibility for automakers to compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in the highest class, and companies like BMW, Toyota, Peugeot, and Porsche have already announced their participation. For Lamborghini, the program will complement the Squadra Corse’s GT platform, consisting of Super Trofeo and GT3, which will remain the core of the automaker’s customer motorsport program.
“This step up into the highest echelon of sports car racing marks an important milestone for our company,” Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini CEO, comments. “We will be measuring ourselves against the very best, on the most demanding proving grounds. On one hand, this will give our successful motorsports program even more visibility, but it will also allow us to test future technologies: our LMDh prototypes will become our most sophisticated open laboratory on four wheels.”
At this relatively early stage of development, there’s not much official information available for the new LMDh prototype. The only released teaser image shows a sketch of the machine with a front fascia that reminds us of the Sian road-going supercar. It will be very interesting to see what powertrain this Lamborghini race car will get, considering the competition from Toyota and Peugeot will rely on a hybridized V6 engine, while Porsche will stick to a V8. We will hopefully learn more as Lambo estimates it will unveil the new LMDh prototype race car in full in 2024, in time for the FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
