Lamborghini Trofeo racing team Zyrus Engineering gave us our first look at its twin-turbocharged racer last year, and has now revealed a road-going variant for the first time. The firm plans to build 24 examples in total, 12 being this new road-legal Strada variant.
Lamborghini Trofeo racing team Zyrus Engineering gave us our first look at its twin-turbocharged racer last year, and has now revealed a road-going variant for the first time. The firm plans to build 24 examples in total, 12 being this new road-legal Strada variant.
Though developed to be more usable on the road, with adjustable engine maps and a greater focus on comfort, the LP1200 Strada is anything but tame. Although based on the Huracán Performante, it retains the same mind-boggling 885kW power output as the track car due to the use of a pair of turbochargers, while its aerodynamics are also on the extreme side, with Zyrus claiming a peak downforce figure of 2010kg at 200km/h.
The track-only LP1200 R utilises the Super Trofeo’s carbonfibre and aluminium subframe construction, but fits its own carbon skin over the top. Over 600 components are replaced or redesigned both within the chassis and powertrain, and includes the addition of turbochargers lifting power from its 5.2-litre V10 to 885kW. To support this near 100 percent power increase, it also receives an uprated fuel injection system, new oil coolers, more efficient radiators, billet intakes and a Motec ECU.
That extreme new bodywork isn’t just for show either, as it generates significantly more downforce than the Trofeo racer – Zyrus claims a staggering peak figure of 2142kg at 124mph for the R. Alongside the lightweight bodywork, components such as inconel manifolds and titanium exhaust pipes also help keep weight to a minimum.
Keeping the LP1200 on the road are Öhlins dampers alongside a carbon carbon brake setup behind race-spec centre-lock wheels. Power is sent to the ground through an Xtrac sequential gearbox, with a digital ‘Smart dash’ feeding live data to both the driver and pit crew.
With experience developing racers for the Norwegian Extreme GT Championship, a series where almost every contender boasts a four-figure power output, Zyrus is well equipped to actually meet these benchmarks. Over two years and almost 20,000 man hours since the project began, it sent the first LP1200 prototype to Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring earlier this month.
Despite having to contend with traffic, Norwegian Fredrik Sørlie recorded a time of 6:48 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and 2:20 at Spa.
Sørlie said: ‘The times were achieved on race car/supercar track days and with the usual respect to other drivers sharing the busy track, so that shows on the times we managed to achieve, we’d hope to go even faster if we had the track to ourselves. Overall I’m very happy with the car as it is now but we can always do better, we are on the right path with the data from the onboard systems and we look forward to returning again to these circuits to see where we can improve.’
Prices begin at €525,000 (AUD$830,000) for the track-only LP1200 R, rising to €595,000 (AUD$940,000) for the street-legal Strada.
Sam Jenkins