Following the decision to implement the ‘two-car rule’ for manufacturers competing in the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class, Lamborghini, like Cadillac, Aston Martin and Isotta Fraschini, is working on adding a second car for the 2025 season.
Speaking to the media last week before the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours the Italian brand’s CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, confirmed that it will fulfil the requirement.
“The reason why we entered into Hypercar and LMDh is that it collided with our strategy. Then it was the fact that WEC and IMSA together would give us global visibility, and there is a cascading process with R&D due to the fact it is endurance racing, and the budget was foreseeable,” he said.
“For sure things are changing and it will be more expensive for us. But we will do it, we will have the second car in WEC from next year.”
This follows Iron Lynx’s team principal Andrea Piccini telling DSC back in April that the team was ‘ready’ for two cars in Hypercar should the rule come into place. It also adds to Aston Martin’s immediate confirmation of a second Hypercar for Heart of Racing after the regulation was announced and Cadillac’s expected two-car effort with a new team following Ganassi Racing’s planned departure at the end of the year.
“On one hand we appreciate having a second car,” added Rouven Mohr, Lamborghini’s chief technical officer (and interim head of motorsport). “Our development progress is slower because we have less data and fewer opportunities for different race strategies. But it is an additional effort for a company small like us, but we like challenges and we will find a Lambo way to deal with it.”
The biggest question mark therefore surrounds the future of its IMSA GTP programme.
For year 1 of the SC63, it has committed a single car for both the full FIA WEC season and a partial IMSA Endurance Cup campaign. Originally, prior to the ‘two-car rule’ coming into play, the plan was to scale up its IMSA effort in 2025.
As a result of the new criteria in place for manufacturers looking to enter the WEC’s Hypercar class, it is too early to say exactly what its effort stateside will look like.
However, Mohr stressed that Lamborghini is committed to IMSA, describing it as one of the programme’s “pillars”. Iron Lynx will also continue to operate the factory cars in both championships going forward.
“Yes, this is at the moment our idea,” Rouven Mohr said when asked directly if Lamborghini remained committed to GTP in 2025. “It’s a bit early. We would like to do more, but it doesn’t make sense to spend our resources on too many things and lose focus and progress. We have to find the balance.
“We have just had the WEC calendar confirmed via the Endurance Commission and so on, it’s now official. We were already pre-planning something, but we don’t have the full picture. We will decide with our board over the next few weeks how we will set up the 2025 season, and the evolution of the car.
“It’s not so much about a second car, it’s more the logistical part and the support parts. The easiest part is to have a second car, and the least expensive part.”
Could customer cars form part of its future plans? While there appear to be no immediate plans for Lamborghini to offer additional SC63s for competition, Winkelmann by no means ruled it out.
“There might be an opportunity to step up in terms of cars,” he said. “This is something we have to see with additional partners. This is something others are doing, we have not done so far, and this could be an opportunity that will help us with more testing.
“We are evaluating different opportunities and options. We will do our best. It’s something we have to discuss in-depth with Iron Lynx.”
On the subject of ‘Evo Jokers’ (performance upgrades), Mohr gave a little more insight into the development work that is ongoing for the SC63 In the background.
“This was a learning year and we already have an idea about an evolution. We will decide with the board and speak a little bit later this year about the programme next year,” he said.
“If you look at the performance of the car, we are making progress and satisfied, considering the baseline that this is a learning year. At the moment we have collected some ideas about what would improve the car.
“We are deep diving into the topics, then if we find a technical framework we will discuss with the governing body how many waivers we need and how many optimisation steps we need. At the moment we have collected optimisation potential and the next working on the specific technical solution. Then the next step is to discuss how big is the evo pack and when it will be introduced.
“On the drivetrain and engine side we don’t face any big problems, on the aerodynamic side we are super satisfied. We are looking more at the mechanical grip side and the optimisation will go more in this direction and in weight reduction. But we are happy with the speed of the development.”
Despite the forthcoming rise in costs to compete in WEC’s Hypercar class going forward (due to the two-car mandate), Lamborghini remains committed to the current ruleset in the longer term. Mohr and Winkelmann both welcome the extension of the current Hypercar and GTP homologation cycle to the end of 2029, especially as it currently has no plans or interest in developing a car for the forthcoming hydrogen category.
“It’s a good decision, for all the manufacturers you have planning safety,” Mohr said when asked by DSC for a reaction to the extension of the Hypercar rules. “We have always said this is not a short time shot, we have a clear strategy behind our engagement, so it’s positive.”
