Lately, those in the top class of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA have built cars for competition, and years later announced a limited run of production versions for especially high-paying customers. Ferrari did it with the 499P, Aston Martin is about to do the same with the Valkyrie LM, and Porsche made precisely one 963 for Roger Penske. McLaren announced a few months ago that it would join the hypercar fight with an LMDh contender of its own, and over the Le Mans weekend, we got our first peek at the car. The difference here, though, is that not only will a select few be able to buy one, they’ll also come along for the ride as the car is tested and developed over the next two years.
Right now, it’s known only as “Project: Endurance.” Rather than building a bespoke hypercar, as Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, and Aston have done, McLaren is going the less expensive but also technically more restrictive LMDh, route, like Porsche, Cadillac, and BMW. The British supercar maker is working with Dallara for the chassis, and United Autosports, which is part-owned by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, will field the race cars when McLaren officially joins the grid in 2027.
At this early stage, Project Endurance looks like any other LMDh chassis, with the front end of a McLaren Senna grafted on. I’ve seen a lot of criticism over the exterior design, but cars in this category are very interchangeable, visually speaking, and there’s nothing especially offensive or noteworthy about this rendition of the formula. It’s not as instantly recognizable as the Valkyrie LMH or Peugeot 9X8, but I reckon McLaren would rather be forgettable and quick than distinctive and slow.
The car itself is only part of the story, though. Again, McLaren plans to sell these for an undisclosed price, and those who take the plunge will benefit from a driver development program and receive behind-the-scenes access to the car’s progression and McLaren’s endurance racing campaign as it takes shape. That’s pretty unprecedented in the world of motorsports. Sometimes, a constructor will sell examples of its race car that buyers get to take on track days, but how often do those people get to attend closed-door testing?
It stands to reason that the customers for a vehicle like Project Endurance aren’t just interested in a fast, flashy supercar—they’re seriously enamored with motorsports, and they expect the same article that speeds down the Mulsanne. As Aston’s proven with its Valkyrie LM program, while these hypercars are very light and remarkably fast in race spec, they’re also typically tuned for less power than an equivalent road car might have, per the regulations. The engine in Project Endurance will be a flavor of the twin-turbo V6 already incorporated in the Artura, with hybrid assist as mandated by LMDh rules.
It’ll be two more years before we see McLaren take to the track, and by that time, Genesis will join the World Endurance Championship in 2026, and Ford in 2027. The top class of endurance racing is already crowded—in a good way—and there’s no sign yet that anyone currently on the grid is planning on leaving to make space for the newcomers.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is The Drive’s News Editor, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
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