The Lancia That Challenged Porsche’s Dominance

Created to challenge Porsche’s supremacy in the World Sportscar Championship, the Lancia LC2, from the Gino Macaluso Foundation, will be one of the highlights of the Icons of Speed thematic exhibition.

The exhibition journey of Icons of Speed continues to grow, bringing together more than 25 cars that played a defining role in the history of endurance racing at BolognaFiere. Among them will be the Lancia LC2, developed in 1983 to challenge Porsche’s dominance. Its story follows that of the Beta Montecarlo Turbo Group 5, a key contender in endurance racing between 1979 and 1981: the very car from the Gino Macaluso Foundation that will be on display in Bologna won the 1980 Mugello 6 Hours with Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever.

Born from the Abarth SE036 project, the LC2 brought a Ferrari-derived V8 to the track, prepared by Abarth and fitted with two KKK turbochargers. In race trim, it produced around 680 hp, rising to 850–1,000 hp in qualifying thanks to overboost. The chassis, designed by Dallara, featured an aluminium honeycomb monocoque combined with a Kevlar bodywork.

The LC2 secured 13 pole positions and three victories in the World Championship. The Gino Macaluso Foundation example took pole position at the 1983 Monza 1000 km, driven by Piercarlo Ghinzani and Teo Fabi, and at the Imola 1000 km with Alessandro Nannini and Riccardo Gabbiani. In 1985, it went on to win the Spa 1000 km with Riccardo Patrese, Mauro Baldi and Bob Wollek, before taking third place at the Monza 1000 km with Alessandro Nannini and Riccardo Patrese.

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