Lamborghini announces new Gallardo GT3 racer

Lamborghini has announced a new GT3 motorsport programme, confirming it will develop its facelifted Gallardo supercar to compete against GT3 versions of the McLaren MP4-12C, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Italia and Porsche 911.

The agreement for a new car to contest the 2013 and 2014 seasons has been signed with Reiter Engineering – the team that helped develop race versions of the Murcielago and the original Gallardo – and Lamborghini Motorsport.

On Bing: see pictures of the Lamborghini GT3

Lamborghini Gallardo facelift at Paris 2012

Based on the new 2013 model year Gallardo, the GT3 FL2’s development will focus on “long-distance performance”. That means the racer gets “24-hour brakes”, improved engine cooling and reduced fuel consumption.

The Italian supercar manufacturer hasn’t revealed any performance details as yet, however.

But there is a high-downforce aero kit, featuring a new front splitter and a large carbon diffuser at the rear (similar to the item used on the Gallardo Super Trofeo racing car), which works in conjunction with a huge rear wing.

Lamborghini claims the GT3 FL2’s kerb weight is 25kg less than that of the previous Gallardo GT3.

If its predecessor is anything to go by, the forthcoming Gallardo GT3 should be pretty successful. Introduced in 2007, the original scored 199 wins and 350 podiums, so the FL2 has a tough act to follow.

President and CEO of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelman:

“We are delighted to announce a minimum five-year agreement with Reiter Engineering as our exclusive development and supply partner for Lamborghini GT3 cars.

“We are committed to supporting racing in Europe and Asia in 2013 with expansion into the USA in 2014.”

You obviously have to have deep pockets to go racing GT cars in an international GT championship though. If you’ve got the relevant race licence you can buy a Gallardo GT3 FL2 for €320,000 plus taxes – that’s around £330,000 all in.

That said, Lamborghini is proud of how ‘cheap’ the Gallardo racer will be to run, with Reiter Engineering setting a benchmark of only €9 to €12 per kilometre in rebuild costs.

That’s roughly £7.70 to £10.30 per kilometre – which although may not be much in racing terms, still excludes consumable like fuel, tyres and brakes…

The racing announcement has given us clues as to when the new Gallardo might arrive, too. Since the commitment with this car only last until the end of next year, we strongly suspect we’ll be seeing a new baby Lambo around then.

Revealed: 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo

On Bing: see pictures of the Lamborghini GT3

Lamborghini Gallardo facelift at Paris 2012