For Sale: 1983 Lancia LC2 Group C

History & photos via Girardo & Co

This works Lancia Martini Racing 1983LC2 Group C is the first example of the model built.  It was driven by Henri Pescarolo, Alessandro Nannini and Bob Wollek in its time, competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and completing a side-by-side top-two lockout with its sister works car at the 1984 Kyalami 1000. It’s up for sale at Girardo & Co as part of the Campion Collection.

The car, Lancia LC2-0001, is the first LC2 built by Lancia, Dallara and Albarth. Its first public appearance was at Lancia Martini Racing’s February 1983 press conference at the Martini Museum, during which the marque unveiled the LC2 alongside their 037.

Although LC2-0001 appeared at the track a short while later, when Piercarlo Ghinzani drove it during practice at the 1983 Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo at Monza, its first outing in anger took place at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At Le Mans, the car was driven by Alessandro Nannini, Jean-Claude Andruet and Paulo Barilla. The team qualified lucky 13th after running out of fuel at Mulsanne. During the race they struggled with the ignition and then the turbo, eventually retiring after 135 laps. Its two sister cars, having qualified second and fourth, would struggle as well, also leaving the race ahead of schedule.

The car would not compete again in 1983, but Lancia continued to develop their LC2 project, introducing a stronger twin-turbocharged Ferrari 308C V8 that spat out 800 bhp, amongst other things.

It would be late in the 1984 World Sportscar Championship before the car tasted the track again, only being called up for the Kyalami 1000 Kilometres in South Africa in November. Bob Wollek and Paolo Barilla would be handed the keys for the race, and quickly put the car on pole ahead of a second works LC2.

It took the LC2s just nine laps to lap the field, and they kept the pace up for the full 244-lap distance. As the cars approached the finish line, team manager Cesare Fiorio gave the order for them to finish side by side. They did, and LC2-0001 was classified in second.

Following this race, LC2-0001 was purchased by Garage Italya, the official importers for Lancia and Maserati, and sent to Japan for the 1985 All Japan Endurance Series. For this campaign, Henri Pescarolo and Allessandro Nannini were signed up as drivers.

The car contested three events in Japan and showed great qualifying speed, but ultimately found little success. Its debut was in the 1000 Kilometers of Fuji, where it was qualified third but ended up retiring after failing to make it out of a refueling stop.

The car was back at Fuji a short while later for the third round of the All Japan Endurance Series. This time it qualified second, but the gearbox failed to change the car’s fortunes from its debut race. It returned to Fuji one more time in October, but the team opted not to start the race due to poor weather, which  eventually saw the race stopped early.

LC2-0001 retired from its period racing career following 1985 and went into the hands of a Japanese collector – Yoshijuki Hayashi – until 1996. It then made its way to Manfredo Lippman and was sent to California for display in the Blackhawk Museum in California. It joined the Campion Collection in 2017.

The car was then entrusted to Andy Greene Sports and Vintage Race Cars for inspection and a comprehensive mechanical restoration. Over the past few years the engine has been fully serviced, suspension and brakes have been rebuilt and the car has been prepared for the track. The bodywork was inspected and restored where necessary, but otherwise been left in good original condition.

For the full details on this rare and desirable Group C sportscar, head to Girardo & Co’s official website here.

History & photos via Girardo & Co