Lamborghini gets serious about racing with the Huracán GT3

By Stephen Edelstein Published January 21, 2015

While not historically associated with racing, Lamborghini is making up for lost time.

Last August it unveiled the Huracán LP620-2 Super Trofeo racecar for its own Blancpain Super Trofeo series, but the raging bull from Sant’Agata Bolognese.

That’s where the newly-unveiled Huracán GT3 comes in. It will bring Lambo to the international racing stage this year in the Blancpain Endurance Series, battling the best from other carmakers around Europe.

Needless to say, the GT3 is heavily modified from the stock Huracán LP610-4 that’s sold to civilians.

The 5.2-iter V10 engine is retained, but the stock all-wheel drive system is ditched for rear-wheel drive. The GT3 also gets an integrated Bosch electronic control system that manages the engine, gearbox, and traction control.

The chassis is augmented with an FIA-compliant roll cage and other tweaks meant to accommodate a larger radiator and improve aerodynamics, with input from Dallara Engineering.

The upscale interior of the Huracán road car is stripped away to save weight. The driver looks at a TFT dashboard display, and sits in a heavily-bolstered racing seat.

Lamborghini says the car weighs around 2,700 pounds, with a weight distribution of 42/58 percent front/rear.

Final race weight will be determined by “Balance of Performance” metrics, which seek to level the playing field among the many different configurations of engine and chassis that compete in the Blancpain series.

That includes fellow Volkswagen Group property Bentley, which started campaigning its Continental GT3 last season through partner Team M-Sport.

Lamborghini will partner with Austrian team Grasser Racing, which will actually run the cars. Indonesian oil company Pertamina has signed on as the official technical partner of all of Lambo’s racing efforts.

The Huracán GT3 has already begun testing, and will get its first taste of combat in April when the Blancpain series kicks off at Itlay’s famous Monza circuit.

Subsequent races include Silverstone (England), Paul Ricard (France), the Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hour race (Belgium), and a race at Germany’s Nurburgring.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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