1982 Lancia LC1/82
Pilots: O. Larrauri, M. Sigala, M. Cohen-Olivar
Team: Scuderia Sivama Motor / Griffone
Race: DNC (C class) at Le Mans in 1983
Spark - S0663 (resin)
Published 08/21/18
The Lancia LC1 was built to compete in the World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans. Homologated for Group 6, Lancia used it from 1982 to 1983. The objective of the LC1 was to permit the brand to move up from the production-based cars to prototype racing. In other words, they wanted a car to replace the Beta Montecarlo Turbo of Group 5. The new car had an open cockpit design, with a chassis built by Dallara. The chassis was an aluminum monocoque with front and rear sub-frames, covered by fiberglass body panels. For the power plant, Lancia used a turbocharged 1425 cm³ inline-4, with DOHC and 16 valves. With the single KKK turbine the engine could produce 430 hp in race trim.
Unfortunately, the usefulness of the LC1 was short lived. With the substitution of Group 6 by Group C for 1983, the car consequently was no longer race-legal. So Lancia gave-up on the LC1 in favor of the LC2, but that was not the end for the LC1. Italian squad Sivama Motor modified a pair of LC1/82 with a closed cockpit to meet Group C regulations. The LC1/82 #51 (chassis #001002) was one of these cars. It competed in the 1983 24 Heures du Mans, and though finished the race, it failed to classify. Without a doubt, a quirky one this car.
Well, it’s kind of ugly and was a DNC – hence, why would I want it? Simple: Gaggia. I’m very serious about coffee, and any respectable coffee lover will recognize the brand. Even if you are a misguided poor soul that thinks Starbucks or Nescafè means good coffee, trust me, they’re not. With a Gaggia* you can make good coffee at home. So, a Le Mans car sponsored by Gaggia? And very nicely recreated by Spark in 1:43?? Take my money!
But leave the coffee.
*: I don’t own a Gaggia, since I’m an ECM and La Marzocco fanboy. And in reality, Gaggia nowadays is different from what it was up to the 80’s. Back then they made truly manual machines that could produce fine espresso with a good barista piloting. In contrast, the current machines are more generic affairs that can even use coffee pods . But you still can find some of their older models with which you can make a proper espresso.