This is Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s 12-cylinder hypercar for 2020
Lamborghini still needs to build 63 Sián FKP 37s before those supercapacitor-powered, mild-hybrid V-12s can become its punchiest road cars to date. However, the fact that both the Sián’s and the Aventador’s successors will be hybrids doesn’t mean Lamborghini is done with pure gasoline engines just yet. Instead, while Lamborghini’s hot-rodded Urus goes racing, Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse motorsports division also gets to cook up a mysterious, naturally-aspirated V-12 hypercar for 2020.
The Urus ST-X racing SUV, announced last November, is headed to the World Finals in Jerez, where it will be driven by nine-time Motocross Champion Tony Cairoli. Under that Verde Mantis exterior is a lighter package with a huge rear wing, racing exhaust, and carbon-fiber hood featuring supplementary air intakes. Lamborghini also threw in the mandatory roll cage and fire extinguisher system.
While that sounds fun, it’s the hypercar announced by Lamborghini’s racing department that we need to talk more about.
It has a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 tuned to produce 830 horsepower—and we could leave it at that, echoing that Lamborghini wants to give its flagship engine a final blast before it is forced to electrify the whole V-12 range. It’s also true that creating a track-only toy is easy money in the bank, and the brand is not new to this game.
However, as Lamborghini is actively looking into the hypercar class of the next WEC season, this mystery Squadra Corse concoction could also be ready for the task just in time to roll up next to Toyota, Aston Martin, SCG, McLaren, and perhaps even Koenigsegg on the starting grid.
All that Lamborghini will say at this point is that new car is built around a carbon-fiber monocoque complete with an aluminum subframe and an integrated roll cage. Like all race cars of this size, this 2020 limited edition also features a large rear wing, an air scoop on the roof, and dual air intakes through its nose.
More important is that behind that naturally-aspirated V-12 is a six-speed sequential Xtrac transmission, which is structural and thus load-bearing, as the connected arms are bolted right to it. The drivetrain package is completed by a self-locking differential, which allows the driver to adjust its preload on demand depending on the surface conditions.
That’s some serious hardware from Squadra Corse, and if you can’t decide whether this sounds like the spec sheet of a sufficiently overbuilt track toy or more like something designed to please the FIA, we don’t blame you.
