Lancia LC2 - 1985

Cette collection est une adaptation de 24H Le Mans ® Le auto delle corsa più leggendaria al mondo Éditeur : Centauria Editore s.r.l.

Le Mans Lancia LC2 myths

With its Dallara chassis, Ferrari engine and a number of the best drivers of the early 1980s, the Lancia LC2 seemed destined for victory. But its insufficient reliability, more than that of its Porsche rivals, prevented it from winning. Even at Le Mans, where a sixth and a seventh place would remain its best results.

The #5 LC2 of Mauro Baldi and Henri Pescarolo, second crew of the Lancia Martini team engaged in the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans. This car will finish seventh, just behind the #4 LC2 of Alessandro Nannini, Bob Wollek and Lucio Cesario . © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

In addition to its success in rallying, Lancia also enjoyed some success in endurance racing, winning the World Championship of Manufacturers three times with the Beta Montecarlo Group 5. Following the creation of the new Group C in 1982, the next logical step would be to continue the series of victories, but the first attempt with the LC1 sports car missed its aim.

The reason was simple: the LC1 was not entirely suited to Group 5, because it was designed as a previous Group 6 Sport (a category that was still allowed in 1982, the year of transition between the two regulations), but fitted with a two-litre engine that was now clearly inadequate. To beat the super-powerful Porsche 956 and later 962, it needed something different, a model specifically designed to exploit the Group C regulations to the full.

1.The large front air intake feeds the radiator of the LC2 engine cooling system.

2. The NACA-type air intakes placed on the sides are used to feed the 2 turbochargers and the associated heat exchangers, which allow the original Ferrari engine to obtain more than 800 hp in racing configuration.

The new car comes in the form of the new LC2 (project name Abarth SE 036), which benefits from an all-new chassis by Dallara and a V8 engine designed by Scuderia Ferrari but developed by Abarth, the manufacturer and tuner Lancia works closely with. The engine is based on that of the Ferrari 308 Quattrovalvole, initially reduced to 2.65 litres and fitted with two KKK turbochargers with the intention of also using this V8 in Formula Indy.

1. The 3.1-litre V8 engine of the 1985 model is bolted directly to the chassis, and therefore has a structural function.

2. Given the position of the turbocharger, the exhausts (one for two cylinders) emerging symmetrically in front of the rear wheels on each side of the LC2.

In April 1983, the duo Riccardo Patrese-Michele Alboreto finished 9th in the 1,000 km of Monza. The following race showed the limitations of the engine, which did not seem to be optimised for long-distance events and caused a series of withdrawels, including one at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where the LC2s were on a par with the Porsches during qualifying before disappearing shortly after the halfway point. The negative spiral was only interrupted by the placings obtained at the 1,000 km of Spa, with the private team of Paolo Barilla and Giorgio Francia finishing 6th and the officials Teo Fabi and Riccardo Patrese 7th.

A. The official Lancia team adorned itself with the Martini Racing colors in 1981, and retained them throughout its active period, including rallies, until its withdrawal from competition in 1992.

B. The aerodynamics of the LC2 have been carefully designed to create a ground effect, with the flat bottom complemented by a large extractor at the rear.

For 1984, the engine was overhauled. Displacement was increased to just over 3 litres for more than 850 bhp in qualifying, but reliability improved too little. At Le Mans, the only LC2 to make it to the finish was that of Alessandro Nannini and Bob Wollek, who squeezed through a parade of nine Porsche 956s to take 8th place.

The Germans were unbeatable, although Lancia always gave the impression of being up to scratch. In 1985, the Martini colours had the meagre satisfaction of placing two cars in the top ten, improving slightly on the previous year's result with 6th and 7th places. This result was due to car no. 4, once again entrusted to Wollek and Nannini (this time accompanied by the Australian Lucio Cesario), which slipped into a horde of Porsche 956s and 962Cs, which dominated the event. 7th place went to the N°5 LC2 driven by Frenchman Henri Pescarolo and Italian Mauro Baldi.