McLaren Confirms Entry into WEC Hypercar Class from 2027

McLaren has officially confirmed plans to compete in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) starting in the 2027 season. The announcement came via a teaser image released by the British manufacturer, featuring a silhouette of a prototype accompanied by the statement, “We’re back.”

The entry marks McLaren’s return to the top echelon of endurance racing, a space it last occupied during the 1990s with the McLaren F1 GTR. The company notably secured overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans with the iconic model—a feat that remains a significant part of its motorsport legacy.

The WEC’s Hypercar category, introduced in 2021, has rapidly attracted participation from several major manufacturers. McLaren will become the 16th brand to join the class, competing alongside Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and others.

While specific technical details remain under wraps, multiple reports suggest McLaren will develop its prototype under the LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) regulations. If confirmed, the entry would align McLaren with other LMDh participants such as Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, and Alpine, in contrast to the LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) entries fielded by Ferrari and Toyota. The prototype is expected to be built on Dallara’s LMDh chassis architecture—also used by Cadillac’s V-Series.R and BMW’s M Hybrid V8 platforms.

McLaren is already active in WEC through its LMGT3-class campaign with the 720S Evo GT3, operated by United Autosports. The team, co-owned by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and former racer Richard Dean, has not yet been confirmed as the operator of the future Hypercar effort. It also remains unclear whether McLaren’s program will include a parallel campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America, which shares convergence regulations with the WEC for LMDh prototypes.

The timing of the announcement comes ahead of the 30th anniversary of McLaren’s 1995 Le Mans triumph. With the milestone approaching in 2025, further updates on the new Hypercar project are expected to be shared during the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans later this year.