Lamborghini in 2024 entered both the IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship with an LMDh race car competing in the top classes of both competitions, GTP and Hypercar, respectively.
Dubbed the SC63, the race car features a hybrid powertrain just like the other LMDh cars, but the internal-combustion component is a bespoke V-8 developed in-house at Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse motorsports department.
A new video on IMSA’s YouTube channel gives us an in-depth look at the SC63, which was filmed ahead of the car’s entry in this past weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring. The race served as round two of the SportsCar Championship. Lamborghini missed January’s opening round in Daytona.
The SC63 finished seventh at Sebring, thanks to the efforts of Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli, and Romain Grosjean. Grosjean, a former Formula 1 driver, is featured in the video and explains what it is like driving the car.
The SC63’s debut race was the opening round of the World Endurance Championship, which took place in Qatar in early March. There, drivers Mirko Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat, and Edoardo Mortara brought the car home in 14th place.
Lamborghini partnered with Italian racing team Iron Lynx for its LMDh program, and competes as Lamborghini Iron Lynx.
All LMDh race cars feature a hybrid powertrain using a control Xtrac transmission, battery, and motor-generator unit to help keep a lid on costs. Constructors are free to choose the internal-combustion component of the powertrain, with Lamborghini opting to develop its own twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-8 for the LMDh program. Constructors can also choose the gear ratios for the transmission and the amount of slip of the differential.
Constructors also need to use a control chassis similar to a current LMP2 chassis, sourced from one of four suppliers: Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic, and Oreca. Lamborghini chose a chassis from Ligier. As Lamborghini was the first constructor to opt for the chassis, it was able to work with Ligier on finalizing the specification to suit its own needs.