McLaren Announces 2027 Hypercar Program
McLaren confirms intent to enter FIA WEC's top class from 2027 with short statement...
Image: McLaren
McLaren has confirmed long-rumored plans to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship’s top Hypercar class, starting in 2027.
The Woking marque’s announcement came on Thursday by way of a 16-second clip posted to social media, showing a silhouette of McLaren’s future top-flight challenger (pictured top), accompanied by a brief press statement.
The statement, which references McLaren’s 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans win, read: “1995. Legendary Le Mans victory. Triple Crown glory. Ready to make our mark on the world endurance stage once again. Hypercar. 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.”
A short quote from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown simply said: “We’re back.”
McLaren had been consistently linked to a return to the top flight of sports car racing even before the current Hypercar ruleset came into existence, it enticed by the prospect of rules convergence with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Brown said last year at Le Mans that the extension of the current rules through 2029 would make it easier for the brand to give the go-ahead to the program, which would complement McLaren’s current efforts in Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E.
Thursday’s statement contained no details about the program, but it is expected to utilize the LMDh platform, with Dallara the likely chassis supplier, while United Autosports — of which Brown is co-founder and co-owner — is in line to run the two-car factory effort.
McLaren’s announcement follows that of Ford, which confirmed its plans to join the WEC’s top category in 2027 back in January.
It is thought that the two companies had planned to work together, with Ford supplying engines for McLaren, before the Blue Oval decided to go it alone.
The news brings the number of top-class entrants for that season to 11, including 2026 newcomers Genesis, assuming that the current eight Hypercar participants — Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, BMW, Alpine and Aston Martin — stay.
Much like Ford’s announcement, there was no mention of a WeatherTech Championship program in Thursday’s statement.
Further information on McLaren’s WEC program is expected in June at Le Mans, where the brand’s F1 GTR scored a famous overall win in 1995.
Last year’s running of the French classic marked McLaren’s return to the Circuit de la Sarthe after a lengthy absence via its United Autosports WEC LMGT3 program, which began last year, plus an additional 720S GT3 Evo entered by Inception Racing.
