WEC News: McLaren Is Returning to Le Mans in 2027

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said Thursday morning: “We’re back.” McLaren is entering the WEC Hypercar class in 2027, and 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.

With the announcement of their WEC program, McLaren will now be active across four major series.

Formula 1
IndyCar
WEC
Formula E

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.