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Motorsport enthusiasts are buzzing with excitement at the prospect of what could be a real revolution in endurance racing. With hypercar manufacturers gearing up for an unprecedented showdown, the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans is shaping up to be a sell-out event.
The new year brings a breath of fresh air to the world of endurance racing, with a packed Hypercar grid set to reshape the Le Mans landscape even before the GT3s arrive. What will happen when seasoned champions take on ambitious newcomers, and how will reliability-focused engineering tip the balance?
Toyota enters the season with a clear mission: to protect the throne it has occupied since the collapse of the LMP1 era, marked by the departures of Nissan (2015), Audi (2016), and Porsche (2023). Without a manufacturer at the top, the World Endurance Championship could have become a mere echo of its former self. The Japanese giant's determination has been forged by disappointments, notably Kazuki Nakajima's failure on the final lap in 2016, and by its willingness to accept a restrictive performance balance that keeps the competition alive, even if only marginally. New rivals, such as Alpine's limited-specification LMP1 and Glickenhaus's 007 LMH, have scored occasional victories, but none have yet dethroned the five-time defending champion. Toyota's experience will need to translate into an unbeatable package if it hopes to remain undefeated.
Across the border, Peugeot is trying to turn heads with the 9X8, an elegant silhouette that completely dispenses with the rear wing. The Lion of Sochaux has already fielded two cars (Nos. 93 and 94) at Monza, using the 2022 season as a development laboratory. The results have been mixed: flashes of speed in Italy, Fuji, and Bahrain, but a fragility that makes the program as fragile as glass. A solid winter preparation could allow the French brand to become a real threat to Toyota, but the 9X8 still lags behind the leaders in the category. Recent progress by Glickenhaus, which turned a modest BoP advantage into a podium finish at Le Mans and a victory at Monza before retiring, shows that good balance can change the course of events overnight. Peugeot's roar will depend on eliminating the mechanical problems that marred its debut.
Ferrari's return to the elite is as much an affirmation of its heritage as it is a technical demonstration. The 499P, unveiled in early 2021, will make its debut in 2023, on the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, ending half a century of absence from the premier class. Nearly 60 hours of testing have helped perfect the twin-turbo V6 hybrid derived from its F1 engine, but teething problems remain. While the driver line-up is not yet known, speculation suggests that Antonio Giovinazzi will wear red at Sebring, where the two Ferraris will race under numbers 50 and 51. The Scuderia's ambition is clear: to make the 499P a winning legend rather than just a visual masterpiece. Meanwhile, Glickenhaus is playing the underdog. Film producer Jim Glickenhaus's team has already proven it can compete above its weight class, fielding the 007 LMH that led from pole position at Monza before retiring, thanks in part to a favorable BoP. Fears that the American team might miss the 2023 WEC season have been allayed: at least one 007 will be on the grid from Sebring, likely the 708 that finished third at Le Mans last year, with the 709 scheduled for the June classic. Although its resources cannot compete with those of Toyota, the partnership between the ACO, the FIA, and the team has allowed Alpine and Glickenhaus to remain closely aligned, even if this proximity sometimes defies common sense. In short, the coming Le Mans seasons promise a captivating mix of reigning dynasties, ambitious returnees, and daring innovators. Reliability, development speed, and the ever-present balance of performance will determine whether the new Hypercar field will merely fill the grid or truly reshape the hierarchy of endurance racing. It should be noted that, contrary to what many assume, the American team is in fact a true factory team: 24 SCG 007S road cars have already been sold, and there is a strong possibility that privateers will field LMHs. If development progresses and the BoP is well balanced, Glickenhaus will have a strong case on the track—and who knows, he might even lend a car to a private driver to help his friend Jim win. Vanwall: will they make it or not? This remains one of the most uncertain projects. ByKolles attempted to enter the WEC in 2022 with an LMH prototype, but the rules are clear: all entries must be linked to an existing car manufacturer, and ByKolles does not have one. The ACO and FIA rejected the application for 2022. While a historic Vanwall group has successfully restored the 1958 F1 constructors' champion, the Vanwall name now associated with the WEC is a different entity. Is it simply a borrowed badge? Is there a real link to the original brand? The only thing we know for sure is that the car has performed well, notably at the Lausitzring in Germany. Adding to the intrigue, 51-year-old Jacques Villeneuve took the wheel. Is this a sign of a return to competition? Nothing is certain, and Colin Kolles' program is still up in the air. At least a road-going Hypercar is in development, which is no small feat. Isotta Fraschini: what is the story behind this unusual project? Last October, a surprise participant appeared on the Hypercars starting grid: an Italian brand that was thought to have disappeared forever announced its intention to join the WEC in 2023. Isotta Fraschini had been secretly developing a Hypercar. It's hard to imagine that a brand whose last production model was a truck (the D80, discontinued in 1955) could be reborn in this way, but thanks to Michelotto, which has taken over the business, the Tipo 6-C LMH is now well and truly in development. It will be associated with Vector Sport, a regular in LMP2.
However, several questions remain unanswered: the car has not yet been tested and no tests are planned before February, just one month before the opening round at Sebring (March 17). No drivers have been announced and registration for 2023 is not guaranteed. However, it would be unfair to doubt the competence of IF's management, which seems confident. The Italian Hypercar will be powered by a 3-liter V6 hybrid engine, but compared to its rivals, which have accumulated months of testing, the gap could be considerable. The car is expected to make its debut at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May, so this season could essentially be a large-scale shakedown. Time will tell what the final package will look like.
LMDh
Porsche: playing guinea pig to get ahead Porsche was the first manufacturer to confirm its entry into LMDh in 2023, marking its return to WEC and IMSA after abandoning the former LMP1 category in 2017. The 963, built with Penske, is a sober but attractive machine, with a front end that echoes Porsche's styling language. Audi had entered the race before focusing on F1 and Dakar, perhaps a missed opportunity. The German prototype has undergone intensive preparation, with around 2,300 km covered in test sessions at Spa-Francorchamps and in the United States. These intensive tests have two objectives: to quickly propel the car to the front of the pack and to make it competitive on both the world and American stages. The 963 also introduced the hybrid system common to all LMDh cars, serving as a test bed of sorts and giving it a significant head start. The upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona (January 28) will set the tone for what the 963 is capable of achieving. Built on a Multimatic chassis, it will compete against Cadillac, BMW, and Acura (Honda's American sports car division). The drivers of cars #5 and #6 are Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen, André Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell, and Mathieu Jaminet. For the first time, the car will have the opportunity to “take on the GTs,” as one driver said with a smile. Porsche's meticulous approach could make it a serious challenger for Toyota from day one, especially as there will be four 963s on the starting grid: two factory cars, one for Jota and another for Proton. It is the only brand to supply cars to its customers this season.
Cadillac: two programs, a surprise? Like Porsche, Cadillac has entered the Hypercar era, with the overall title likely to bring back fond memories. However, the focus will be on IMSA. Three V-LMDh prototypes will be entered: two factory cars and a third for Action Express Racing. Le Mans veteran Sébastien Bourdais will race as an official driver alongside IndyCar star Scott Dixon, Renger van der Zande, Earl Bamber, Richard Westbrook (formerly with Glickenhaus) and Alex Lynn in cars #1 and #2. This futuristic-looking prototype has already racked up numerous laps at Road Atlanta and Daytona, with drivers reporting significant progress in terms of performance and reliability. The 24 Hours of Daytona will give a clear indication of what the Cadillacs are capable of. For now, their 5.5-liter V8 hybrid engine enjoys the unofficial title of “best sound” among the Hypercars.
The 2024 endurance racing calendar promises to be a clash of ambition, technical discipline, and raw numbers. While the headline-grabbing Hypercars dominate the conversation, the real story lies in how manufacturers juggle reliability, brand identity, and logistics to compete on two continents.
BMW has chosen a decidedly conservative path. Its LMDh, the M Hybrid V8, is the race car that most closely resembles a production BMW, a visual cue that shows the Bavarian brand is keen to highlight the connection with the brand. The two machines, chassis numbers 24 and 25, are already turning heads with their striking liveries, but they have not yet been pushed to their limits in terms of speed. BMW engineers have made it clear that the priority for the 2024 season is to iron out reliability issues before focusing on performance, a decision that forces the team to postpone its full-fledged campaign on the IMSA and World Endurance Championship stages until next year. However, this delay is not a setback. Its return to the WEC in 2024 will give BMW the opportunity to rewrite its legacy at Le Mans. The famous 1999 V12 LMR won what many still call the “race of the century,” beating manufacturers such as Toyota, Mercedes, Audi, Courage, Nissan, and Panoz. The new hypercar will have the task of living up to this legacy, a challenge that will test whether the “crazy and demanding” nature of modern LMDh regulations can be mastered.
Across the Atlantic, Acura is playing a different game. The former DPi champion wasted no time in converting its ARX-06 into a GTP-spec hypercar, even though Honda's motorsports division has no WEC program planned for 2024. The car's silhouette still looks more like a stylized DPi-LMP1 than the sleek Peugeot 9X8, but the design choice is secondary to the technology it carries. Acura is leveraging all of Honda Performance's expertise, from IndyCar to Formula 1, and the result is a machine that benefits from the same hybrid advances that have enabled Red Bull and Max Verstappen to dominate the F1 world championship.
Two strong teams will drive the ARX-06 in the United States: Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 and Meyer Shank Racing's No. 60, the latter featuring four-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves. The team's recent success in DPi—a manufacturers' and drivers' title in 2022—suggests that Acura's ambitions remain high, even without a parallel effort in the WEC.
From a broader perspective, the field could soon welcome an unprecedented 16 hypercars at the 2024 Le Mans centenary edition, with additional guests to be added. The two BMW cars and two potential Acuras would join newcomers Lamborghini and Alpine. Lamborghini's debut in the premier class will be based on a Ligier chassis and a hybrid V8 engine – a compromise for fans who were hoping for a V10 – while Alpine will continue its 2023 program with two LMP2 cars and could field a new Hypercar under number 36, complemented by an Oreca-Gibson driven by the Richard Mille Racing trio.
If the current rollout goes as planned, Le Mans could host up to 24 hypercars, complemented by a full GT3 field. Beyond 2024, the door remains open to other heavyweight entries—McLaren, Mercedes, perhaps even an Aston Martin Valkyrie—which should add an extra touch of intrigue to what promises to be a historic era for endurance racing.
