McLaren Is Returning to Le Mans to Fight for the Overall Win in 2027

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said just the right words when announcing the brand’s return to endurance racing Thursday morning: “We’re back.” When McLaren enters the WEC Hypercar class in 2027, it will be more than 30 years since it last won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the legendary F1 GTR in 1995. This time, however, it won’t just be gunning for a Le Mans class win. It’ll be fighting for the outright victory in the Hypercar class while also chasing the Triple Crown again.

“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,” read the announcement.

The nature of an automotive triple crown is debatable. Typically, it’s said to require a driver or a manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indy 500, and the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, but not all in the same year. McLaren achieved the triple crown after winning the Indy 500 in 1972, the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984, and Le Mans in 1995. However, another triple crown interpretation swaps out the Monaco Grand Prix win for the F1 Championship, which it would’ve also accomplished already. And frankly speaking, McLaren has a good shot of scoring either version of it again in 2025.

McLaren customer cars have competed in WEC over the past few years, including the most recent 2024 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo. However, that car raced in the LMGT3 class, which doesn’t compete for the overall win. In 2027, McLaren will enter the Hypercar class, which fights for the big win with purpose-built hybrid prototype racecars. WEC Hypercars don’t need to be based on existing road cars, like LMGT3 cars do, so this will be a from-the-ground-up racer.

McLaren won’t be building the chassis, nor will it supply the hybrid system. Per WEC regulations, Hypercar class racers need their chassis supplied by one of four approved manufacturers: Dallara, Multimatic, Ligier, and Oreca. There’s no official word on which chassis supplier McLaren will use, but according to Motorsport, it will be Dallara. BMW M and Cadillac use Dallara, too. Meanwhile, the battery and hybrid system must be built by Williams Advanced Engineering, the technology arm of Williams F1 Racing.

The engine will be all McLaren, but it didn’t divulge specifics. Using a variation of the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 from the new McLaren W1 makes some sense, as it’s the brand’s most technologically advanced model, and the engine is already paired with a hybrid system, so there’s already lots of technical know-how. It could also use a version of the Artura’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6.

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