In case you somehow still weren’t convinced we’re living through a golden age of endurance racing, this might finally change your mind: McLaren will once again go for outright honours at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2027.
After pretty much constant rumours ever since the new top-flight Hypercar rules came in a few years ago, the Woking manufacturer has confirmed it’ll be entering the category in the World Endurance Championship the year after next.
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The news comes just a month after McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown dropped the strongest hint yet that an official announcement was coming, telling media that “It is pretty clear that we would like to do it; we would love to be going for the overall win at Le Mans. I don’t think the timing has ever been better.”
That’s now been made official, with McLaren dropping a short teaser video showing the front of its new contender in silhouette, ending with new ‘McLaren Endurance Racing’ branding.
1995 McLaren F1 GTR
We don’t know much else about the entry yet, including which of the two performance-balanced rulesets that make up the Hypercar class it’ll be built to. LMH sees manufacturers build a car entirely from scratch, while the more popular LMDh requires them to choose from one of four spec chassis and finish it off with their own bodywork and powertrain.
A previous Motorsport.com report, though, suggests that the car will be an LMDh entry featuring a Dallara chassis and a twin-turbo V6 engine derived from the one in the Artura road car.
Assuming there are no withdrawals between now and 2027, McLaren will join current Hypercar entrants Aston Martin, Porsche, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Ferrari and Peugeot. Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, will also join the class next year, and Ford will be a new addition alongside McLaren in 2027. The McLaren Hypercar will run alongside its existing 720S GT3 racer in the series' production-based category.
McLaren 720S LMGT3
Although it’s only confirmed WEC participation so far, the entry also opens McLaren up to a top-flight entry in the North American IMSA series. Here, the top class is populated by Porsche, Cadillac, Aston Martin and BMW, plus IMSA-only entries from Lamborghini and Acura.
It’s another addition to McLaren’s already packed stable of racing teams, which, in addition to its F1 team, currently includes entries in IndyCar and Formula E. A new top-flight WEC entry, though, gives McLaren the opportunity to reclaim its past glory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The company’s sole win there so far came in 1995, when the production-based F1 GTR infamously took the overall victory over a field of dedicated prototypes.
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