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Lamborghini announces twin-turbo V8 for LMDh racing

The car that replaces the Lamborghini Huracan is rumored to get a twin-turbocharged hybrid V8 possibly making something like 850 horsepower. The engine's origins and details remain in the shadows, but it's possible we'll get a preview of some of its components in Lamborghini's LMDh prototype racer. The Italian brand announced its entry for the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship would be powered by a twin-turbo V8 developed in-house by the Squadra Corse motorsports division. All we know for now about the competition mill is that it will be a 90-degree V8 with an output of around 670 horsepower, midway between the 644 and 697 ponies allowed in the regulations. Partners in the enterprise include Bosch, which will develop the electric motor in the energy recovery system, Williams Advanced Engineering will supply power management software and the energy storage unit, while Xtrac will provide the seven-speed hybrid transmission. The engine will weigh at least 396 pounds, the minimum required by regulations, and enable a top speed of 210 miles per hour or thereabouts. This is the first time Squadra Corse has developed an engine for Lamborghini, and various race media have said it's not only different to the V10 used in Lamborghini's current Huracan GT3 and Super Trofeo cars, it's distinct from the twin-turbo 4.6-liter V8 going into the Porsche 963. The Huracan successor is thought to get an evolution of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the Urus. However, it is impossible to believe Squadra Corse is expending the whopping amounts of time and money required for a race-winning engine for an internal-combustion powerplant that will only ever be used on track. The point of IMSA, the ACO, and the FIA coming together on mutual regulations for LMDh and LMH was to support road-applicable technology able to race in the premier sports car series' around the world. We should get our first look at Lamborghini's new race car by next year's Rolex 24 at Daytona at the latest. A year of testing in 2023 will lead to official competition outings in 2024, the teams running the car yet to be announced.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lamborghini to reveal Aventador SVJ with new Nurburgring lap record?

We'll soon be seeing the Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce J, and rumor has it that we'll be seeing a new production car lap record at the Nurburgring to go with it. Remember, last year the Huracan Performante lapped The Green Hell in 6:52.01, then in September the Porsche 911 GT2 RS bettered that with a time of 6:47.25. Lamborghini supposedly wants its record back, and has used the track-biased Aventador SV J to set a lap about two seconds quicker than the Porsche. Both vehicles take liberties with the phrase "production car." Porsche built just 1,000 of the 911 GT2 RS, and the Aventador SV J is expected to come in numbers well below that. The Italian carmaker only built 600 of the Aventador SV. The J, in a circular bit of word logic, stands for the Spanish word "Jota," and is how to pronounce the letter "J" in Spanish. Lamborghini has used the appellation three times before on extra-special special editions: a one-of-one Miura, on 30 Diablo SE30s, which were track versions of the 30th Anniversary Diablo SE, and a one-of-one Aventador. Odds are the newest Jota will maintain respect for such limited numbers. The Aventador SV J's been captured on all kinds of video running hard at the 'Ring. Last week, Instagram user 43lambo posted on the new lap record. When Autocar asked Lamborghini about it, the carmaker didn't respond to queries. In 2015, the 630-horsepower Aventador SV set a time 12.5 seconds behind the Porsche. The SV J should up the 6.5-liter's V12 output to between 780 and 800 horsepower, lose a substantial amount of weight, and benefit from a suite of serious aerodynamic aids like a larger front splitter, that sculptured rear wing, and a high-mounted dual-exhaust blown diffuser. A rumor from a few months ago said the SV J had already set a time of 6:54 while navigating traffic and a coned-off section of track. If that's true, it seems entirely within the realm of possibility that, without interruptions, the new V12 Lamborghini could establish a record. We should find out soon. Tangential rumors also say the Lamborghini Urus nailed a 7:47 lap at the 'Ring, which would make it the swiftest SUV around the 'track, eclipsing the 7:51.7 time set by the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Related Video:

The Huracan Performante is still a supercar steal, regardless of 'Ring time validity

When Lamborghini released video of its new Huracan Performante lapping the Nurburgring in a stunning 6:52, not everyone was convinced the record was honest. As a result, Lamborghini's director of research and development provided some data to Roadshow to shore up the lap time claim. He addressed the tire issue by telling Roadshow that the car used the optional Pirelli Trofeo Rs. And he noted that it was quicker than its more powerful brother, the Aventador SV, because it cornered and accelerated faster. He even provided VBox data of the lap. The thing is, none of this really matters in the end, particularly for the Huracan. Let us explain. For one thing, if you're going to question the Performante's time, you should question all of the times. All of these records are presented by the manufacturers, so there isn't a truly impartial party measuring the results and inspecting cars. Even with a company presenting plenty of data and explanations, it's hard to be 100 percent sure everything is on the level without an unbiased third party inspecting the cars before and after the lap, and keeping timing. But besides the issue of impartiality, the times themselves aren't really important. As interesting and fun as it is to compare lap times at the Nurburgring, they're really only relevant for rich owners and car companies to brag, and for less-rich fans to bench race. That's not a bad thing, but to look at the lap time of one single track doesn't really give a full picture of a car's performance. A car that's fast at the Nurburgring could be really slow on a tight course like Streets of Willow Springs. There's also the issue of who's driving the car. The manufacturers put their top drivers out on the 'Ring to set times. If you're not a factory test driver, you'll probably never go that fast even if you did get your car to the track. It's all a bit like the silly "blind" or two-wheeled car records. They don't actually provide much info on what the car is really like, or how you could drive it. Even if you're not on board with this explanation, and trust all the 'Ring records except this Lamborghini, we still have a reason why it doesn't matter. You see, even if you're convinced that there's no way the Huracan could best the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Aventador around the Nordschleife, it's still a screaming supercar bargain. The Porsche is a million-dollar car, and the Aventador, just the base model, is $125,000 more than the Huracan Performante.