Glickenhaus to Retire 003C; New Car Set for 2020 Nürburgring 24

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has confirmed that this year’s Nürburgring 24 will be the team’s last with the SCG 003C sports car before it introduces a new model.

The American automaker is retiring the car that claimed overall pole for the 2017 race after five years of it competing in the SP-X category of the Nordschleife enduro.

SCG now plans to shift its focus to an upcoming replacement model called the 004C, which is to be based on the company’s in-development 650-horsepower 004S road car.

Company founder Jim Glickenhaus told Sportscar365 last November that the 004C would be ready to test in late 2019 ahead of its 2020 race debut in the VLN series.

In advance of the 003C’s Nurburgring 24 swansong, he affirmed that these targets should be met, with track testing set to begin “in around two months” prior to the 004C’s launch at the Barcelona round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in September.

Glickenhaus said that SCG has been approved to build the new car to GT2 specifications, with a view to having the option of converting it into GT3-spec.

Production requirements for the SRO-governed GT2 formula have not yet been laid out, while GT3 manufacturers must produce at least 10 race cars in their first year of competition.

Glickenhaus developed its 003C racer for GT3 homologation, but the FIA’s production requirements limited it to competing in the SP-X class at the Nürburgring.

The GT2 category is aimed at ‘true supercars’ with a power output of between 640-700hp, while Porsche is the only OEM manufacturer to have committed to date.

“It’s both a GT2 car that you can get a GT3 kit for,” said Glickenhaus, who confirmed that a pricing structure for GT2 to GT3 conversion has yet to be defined.

“It’s the same car, but in GT2 form it will have less aero and about 650hp, and in GT3 form it will have about 500hp. It will be a plug and play kit, so you’ll just replace the engine and the aero.

“GT2 is SRO’s new class that is going have races for amateur drivers before the GT3 races, but our car will be convertible between the two.

“The pricing isn’t locked, but it will be reasonable and priced with other GT2/GT3 cars.”

Glickenhaus said that as many as three SCG 004Cs could take part in next year’s N24, with one car set to run as a factory effort and the other two open for customers to run.

He added added that the 004C development program will run “parallel” to SCG’s planned FIA World Endurance Championship program with its projected 007 hypercar.

“Everything we learned on 003 has fed over into 004, and everything from the two of them will feed into 007,” said Glickenhaus.

“The 007 will be an Evo of 003 and 004C.”

The 004C is to be built at Podium Engineering in Italy, where SCG’s previous N24 sports cars – the P4/5 Competizione and 003C – were developed.