1983 Lancia LC2 Race Car
While the bulk of Lancia's racing success in the 1980s was in rallying, lucky spectators at Imola, Silverstone, and Le Mans witnessed something special between 1983 and 1985. Lancia built four LC2 cars for the Group C category of the FIA World Endurance Championship to challenge the mighty Porsche 956. Using a 2.6-liter, twin-turbocharged Ferrari engine that would eventually make its way into the 288 GTO, three were retained for the factory team, while a fourth was sold to a privateer team. The car pictured here is chassis no. 0002, the second car constructed, and made its track debut in April 1983 at Monza. While both LC2s retired there, the next race at Silverstone, and finally at the Nurburgring. Le Mans saw 0002 qualify second to the Works 956; the team battling with the Porsche for first place before gearbox problems forced the car's retirement. 0002 would continue to be raced until 1985 when it was retired to the factory and then sold three years later in 1988. After changing hands several times between 2011 and 2015, the current owner performed a ground-up restoration on the car for over a year, and the car has yet to be raced competitively since completion. Incredibly fast, the car is a beatiful example of one of the greatest periods in racing history.
