This is McLaren’s new Le Mans 24h racer

What’s this then? Very orange…

Papaya, actually. It’s McLaren’s (yet unnamed) race car for the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown – the man you usually hear congratulating Lando and Oscar from the F1 pit wall – took the covers off it today in Le Mans ahead of this year’s race.  

Why show a race car at a race you’re not entering for two years?

Because 2025 marks the 30th anniversary since McLaren rocked up at the Le Mans 24 Hours as a novice team, and took home a 1-3-4-5 (and -13) finish on its debut. The race car that year was the GTR version of the McLaren F1, a road car that its creator – one Gordon Murray – always proclaimed was never designed to compete because that would have compromised its design.

Still, it won on its debut, which handed McLaren the ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport: wins at the Monaco GP, the Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours. McLaren remains the only team to have managed that trio of victories, and come 2027 it’ll be the only manufacturer with a chance of repeating that feat.

No pressure, then?

Quite. But McLaren knows it’ll be coming into the top-tier Hypercar party very late. BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota have all been competing for a few years, and latecomers like Alpine, Aston Martin and Lamborghini have all struggled. Plus by the time 2027 rolls around, Genesis will have a year of racing under its belt and big ol’ Ford will also be making its debut. 

Not entirely without coincidence though, McLaren’s announcement came hours after the ACO (the organisers of Le Mans) and the FIA officially announced the extension of the Hypercar regulations until the end of 2032. That means McLaren will get at least six years of racing with its new car – and come in fresh when rivals have been around for half a decade or so.

To ensure its Formula 1 operation doesn’t get distracted, McLaren will partner with United Autosports, a race team that Zak Brown co-owns, and who have won the LMP2 class at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship.

Okay, okay, details please.

Scant for now, but McLaren Racing will enter its car under the LMDh side of the ‘Hypercar’ regulations. LMH allows for a bespoke car, which is the route Ferrari, Toyota and Peugeot have taken. Everyone else – including Ford’s forthcoming racer, and now McLaren – go with LMDh, which uses a bunch of off-the-shelf parts. Because cost.

Those standard parts include the carbonfibre monocoque chassis, which must come from one of four spec suppliers. McLaren has chosen Dallara, who supply Cadillac and BMW already, and with whom McLaren currently competes with in IndyCar.

What chance it’ll have a V12 like the McLaren F1?

None. The engine will be a twin-turbo V6, whose capacity has yet to be revealed. Power is capped by the regulations, at 671bhp, so it’s about finding the most efficient way to make that figure.

Will it be the McLaren Artura’s 120-degree V6. Probably not. Yes, Ferrari uses its 120-degree V6 in the 499P racer and the F80 and 296 road cars, but McLaren’s decision has been made long after its road engine was ever conceived. McLaren Automotive will collaborate with McLaren Racing to develop the new V6, mind.

Between Le Mans and Formula 1, McLaren will be busy!

Yes, and let’s not forget that Le Mans is just the headline race of the full World Endurance Championship, and that McLaren has that IndyCar team and a Formula E team too.

Might McLaren’s F1 drivers get a race seat?

Top Gear asked Zak Brown just that question. His response, with a smile: “Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] have both given strong hints they’d like to do Le Mans one of these days, but I think right now they’re laser-focused on the Formula 1 world championship.

“But I don’t think there’s a racing driver in the world that doesn’t fancy having a go at Le Mans, and Oscar and Lando are definitely two of those, so let’s see.”