1985 Lucchini Sports Racer

History

Giorgio Lucchini founded Lucchini Engineering in Porto Mantovano, Italy in 1980. Utilizing the knowledge and experience gained working at Dallara for many years, he began building prototypes to compete in the FIA sports cars championship. Lucchinis competed at Le Mans, Daytona, and in hill climbs. Lucchini won the FIA sports car championship twice, and achieved many notable wins. For more on the history of Lucchini racing cars, and its founder, please see Giorgio Lucchini. 

This particular Lucchini SN85 has enjoyed a considerable career in road racing. Most recently, from 2001 through 2010, the Lucchini was raced at such world famous circuits as Monza, Imola, the A1 Ring, Vallelunga, Misano, Mugello, Dijon, Magny-Cours, and more. The car claimed many class wins and multiple podiums. The races, drivers, and results can be seen in the race record sheet below. 

The Lucchini was last raced in Italy in 2014. In 2015 it was serviced front to back before being purchased by the current owner and exported to the U.S. Since then the car has been tracked each year but for a few test sessions only, no racing. 

Description

This particular Lucchini is a 1985, SN85, chassis number 025. Its chassis consists of a tubular space frame enhanced with aluminum panels. This construction provides both structural rigidity and is also much easier and less expensive to repair compared to a monocoque chassis. The bodywork is fiberglass and in very good condition.  

The Lucchini is currently powered by a 2.5 liter Bosch fuel injected Alfa V6 engine. The engine has 8 hours on it. The Alfa’s power is transmitted through a Hewland FT200 five speed gearbox with a limited slip differential.

The car rides on 13” OZ center lock wheels with Avon tires. Damping is by adjustable coil over shocks. Braking is handled by a combination of AP Lockheed vented disc brakes and Girling master cylinders. The Lucchini’s handling is also enhanced with cockpit adjustable front and rear sway bars. 

The interior features a Sparco removable steering, a Veglia tach, and a complement of Racetech gauges for oil pressure, fuel pressure, and oil and water temp.. The car is also equipped with an OMP fire system.

The Lucchini comes with a spare 24 valve 3.0L Alfa Romeo V6 engine, and another 2.5 liter Alfa V6. Both of these engines would need rebuilding before being used in competition.  

The Lucchini was offered on BringATrailer in August, 2023. The high bid at that time was considerably less than a reasonable fair market value for the car. Why? What happened? There are a number of reasons. A few are mentioned below. 

This Lucchini, like many race cars, benefits from both the buyer and seller having unpressured, adequate, time for a reasonable due-diligence review of the car, its specs, its current state of prep, and its history. We always recommend an in person inspection. Failure to conduct reasonable due diligence on a race car can result in “cheap race car” being anything but a cheap race car for the buyer, and aggravation for the seller. 

As a result many on-line auction buyers feel the pressure to build in a broad financial “safety zone” in their bidding for a race car. As such they include assumptions such as the car needing a full going through, or an engine rebuild, or although the car may be freshly restored, it will probably still need sorting, set ups, and gremlins worked out. 

In addition, unlike many street cars, a race car buyer will not be flying in to drive their new purchase home either. They will have to ship it, and the spares, which also affects the bid and their bottom line. 

There were other factors affecting the bidding on this Lucchini too, such as the car being relatively rare and not well known in the U.S. despite the marque’s FIA Championship winning history in Europe. In addition, many race car buyers are not buying in mid-August. They are busy racing their current cars, and will wait until the season is over before contemplating next year’s car.

So the above reasons, and probably others, conspired to produce lethargic bidding for this beautiful Lucchini sports racer. Is it a perfect car? No. Does it need some TLC? Yes. Is it worth more than Formula Ford money? You bet, and it has nearly twice the horsepower with a whole lot more rubber to use it. It also looks dramatic, like a great Le Mans prototype should,

If you have questions about the car, would like further information, or would like to make an offer on the car, please call or text  707-328-2452, or email us. The owner is retiring from the sport, so the Lucchini will be sold. 

By the way, we own a similar SR2 sports racer, a Picchio SR2, built in 1999. We really enjoy it.  It also has a tube frame and aluminum panel chassis construction, and the class required production based engine (Alfa in the Lucchini and BMW in our car). This kind of construction and production based engines make these cars easy and affordable to maintain. They are also quick and easy/comfortable to drive. We run with Masters Endurance Legends, and other groups in the U.S., including at the Monterey Reunion and Velocity Invitational. The Lucchini would also be a wonderful entry for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona and the Sebring Classic 12 Hours. You can have lots of great adventures with the Lucchini for relatively little money, especially compared to the similar period Porsche 962’s and the Ferrari 333 SP cars you will get to run with.

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

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