Go to Ultimatecarpage.com

 groupc Ultimatecarpage.com  > Cars by brand  > Italy  > Lancia
Racing cars  > Group C / IMSA GTP
     LC2
Car search:
Quick Advanced 


  Lancia LC2      

  Article Image gallery (152) Chassis (8) Specifications  
Click here to open the Lancia LC2 gallery   
Country of origin:Italy
Produced from:1983 - 1986
Numbers built:9
Designed by:Gianpaulo Dallara
Predecessor:Lancia LC1
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:December 28, 2015
Download: All images
Page 1 of 2 Next >>
Click here to download printer friendly versionAfter the 1955 season Lancia withdrew from road racing completely, the endurance racing cars were abandoned and the Grand Prix racers sold to Ferrari. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Lancia focussed on the Wold Rally Championship with a lot of success. The Lancia Fulvia, Stratos and other cars used are still considered the most legendary of all rally racers. The rally success inspired Lancia to return to road racing at the end of the 1970s.

Lancia's first all-new road racer in over 20 years was the Beta Monte Carlo silhouette racer. It was powered by a 1.4 litre Turbo-charged four cylinder engine, making it eligeble for the under-two-litre category of the Group 5 class. It excelled like the make's rally racers and won the 1979, 1980 and 1981 class World Championship. Lancia decided to up the ante and go for overall victories with a new race car for the 1982 season.

A new prototype racing class was launched for the 1982 season; Group C. One of the class' most important regulator was the restricted amount of fuel available for the races. The new car was still powered by the four cylinder engine, but the chassis was now clothed by a spyder body. Dubbed the LC1, it was designed much along the lines of the old Group 6 regulations, updated to Group C class specification. It was down on power compared to the new Porsche 956, which was powered by an engine almost twice as large as the LC1's.

To take on the Porsches, Lancia needed a much bigger engine, bigger than any engine available. As with the Stratos of the 1970s, Ferrari was picked as an engine supplier. The engine was based on the 32 valve V8 engine used in the 308 QV, downsized to displace 2.65 litres and fitted with two KKK Turbochargers. The displacement was not randomly picked, but specifically chosen to make it a potential Indy engine as well. Abarth was chosen to fine-tune the engine. In its final 3-litre form it produced 850 bhp in qualifying trim.

The V8 was bolted directly onto an aluminium monocoque as a stressed member to form the heart of the new LC2. Responsible for the chassis design was Gianpaulo Dallara, who had previously designed the chassis of Lamborghinis like the Miura. After his Lamborghini employment he formed his own company, which today is one of the leading racing car constructors. The rest of the design was quite straightforward with double wishbones and vented discs on each corner. The power was delivered to the rear wheels through a Hewland 5-speed gearbox.

Page 1 of 2 Next >>

  Article Image gallery (152) Chassis (8) Specifications