Lamborghini on Tuesday released a teaser of its new race car for the upcoming LMDh (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid) class. Although the first LMDh cars will compete in 2023, Lamborghini does not plan to hit the track until 2024.
LMDh and its affiliated LMH classes were created to bring together the top class in global sports car racing. They allow manufacturers to compete with the same car in 24 Hours of Le Mans between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
LMDh and LMH represent versions of the rules used by IMSA and WEC, respectively, although IMSA plans to market LMDh as GTP, arguably referring to the class of prototypes from the golden age of licensing agencies in the 1980s and early 1990s.
# 48 Daytona 2020 24 Hours Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Hurricane GT3 Evo
Lamborghini, which has been considering LMDh entries for the past few months, plans to compete in both WEC and IMSA series, including Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and 12 Hours of Sebring, the automaker said in a press release.
Lamborghini does not have a long racing history, but it is building a factory program under the Squadra Corse banner in production-oriented GT class, with Huracán winning three consecutive GTD-class victories at Daytona between 2018 and 2020. The LMDh will be Lamborghini’s first factory prototype sports racer, and will run alongside the GT program and the Super Trophy One-Make series.
One thing that attracted Lamborghini to the LMDh was the need for a hybrid powertrain, aligned with the automaker’s road car plan. Lamborghini claims to have built its last non-hybrid road car; All production models will now have some amount of electrification.
# 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 2018 12 Hours at Sebring
Several other manufacturers, including BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche, are also committed to LMDh. Most plan to make their car debut in 2023.
Other manufacturers have opted for LMH, but that means they will still be competing against the LMDh team at Le Mans. The biggest names are Audi and Ferrari, the latter returning to the top division in Le Mans for the first time since 1973.