Lamborghini teases razor-sharp track weapon

LAMBORGHINI’S Squadra Corse motorsport division has provided a tantalising preview of its upcoming 618kW hardcore, track-only follow-up to the one-off and barely road-legal SC18 Alston.

 

Unlike the SC18 Alston, the new flagship will be built in numbers – albeit small – and could even presage Lamborghini’s expected entry to the new ‘hypercar’ racecar class established for the 2020-2021 FIA World Endurance Championship.

 

A shadowy teaser image also appears to hint that the new Lambo’s styling will be less obviously based on an Aventador than the SC18 Alston, which maintains the top-spec Aventador SVJ’s power and torque outputs of 566kW and 720Nm.

 

Text accompanying the teaser confirms the as-yet unnamed model will launch next year – probably at the Geneva show in March – and “bring out the best of the iconic 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine”.

 

Quoted power output from what could be the Aventador powerplant’s last hurrah takes a significant step up to 830 horsepower (618kW) and it will be linked to a six-speed Xtrac sequential transmission.

 

Only the A-pillar and shape of the front quarterlight appear similar to the Aventador, with the plunging, pointed bonnet ending in a dual-deck front splitter to provide a completely new front-end look.

 

The doors and side windows also appear unique, with giant air channels running from below the exterior mirrors to what appears to be a much wider, haunched rear-end furnished with a huge wing and a gargantuan splitter.

 

A more pronounced version of the SC18’s roof-mounted air scoop links the hypercar to its one-off predecessor, completing a look that is markedly more dramatic than road-car-derived GT3 endurance racers but stops short of the otherworldly look typified by an LMP2 or LMP1 car.

 

That said, Lamborghini’s announcement states “track only but no races for the super sportscar developed by Squadra Corse and designed by the Centro Stile in Sant’Agata Bolognese”.

 

For safety, an aluminium front frame is joined to the track car’s carbon-fibre monocoque and a steel roll cage surrounding the engine enhances stiffness.

 

In addition, the transmission unit is loadbearing, with suspension components directly bolted to its housing.

 

Inside is a mechanical self-locking differential that can be adjusted on the fly by the driver to suit circuit and surface conditions.

 

If the Aventador SVJ and Huracan Evo are anything to go by, the hypercar is expected to feature plenty of hi-tech active aerodynamics and sent for a Nurburgring lap record attempt.

 

Speculation also swirls that Lamborghini could be using this car to go after customers of Ferrari’s FXX program, which currently runs highly modified versions of the LaFerrari hypercar designated FXX-K Evo.

 

Somewhat upstaged by Lamborghini’s hypercar preview at the Super Trofeo 2019 world final at the Jerez circuit in Spain was the Urus ST-X, which Lamborghini claims to be “the first super SUV in the world of racing”.

 

In transformation to racecar, the bulky Urus has been on a weight-loss regime including the use of a vented carbon-fibre bonnet, carbon rear wing and stripped-out interior with a reinforced tubular rollbar, racing seats and an in-built fire extinguisher system.

 

Also developed by Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse division, the Urus ST-X will have its first race outing next October in a celebrity event during the Lamborghini Super Trofeo world final at the Misano circuit in Italy.

 

In addition to its own race series, the Urus ST-X is expected to spawn a hardcore road-going variant of Lamborghini’s crossover, which the company appears to hint at in its press release by describing the ST-X as “on the racetrack but also off-track”.