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What is a Le Mans
Hypercar? Entries, rules
and specs for the sports
car category
JUNE 10TH 2023
- LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 6TH 2023
What is a Le Mans Hypercar? And which
entries are under these rules? All the
information on the front-runners for the
2023 season and beyond
Heart of Racing will run the Valkyrie Hypercar on both sides of
the Atlantic
AUTHOR
James Elson
The highly anticipated Hypercar category has
long been touted as a new golden age in
endurance racing, with this year’s thrilling Le
Mans 24 Hours – won by Ferrari after a 50-year
absence – seen as a watershed moment for the
sports car discipline. Now, iconic British marque
Aston Martin will join the fray too alongside
Lamborghini — the former entering from 2025
and the latter from 2024.
This year’s La Sarthe classic was an epic daylong battle between the Scuderia and Toyota,
however also in the mix was Peugeot plus the
equivalent LMDh class cars of Porsche and
Cadillac. BMW, Lamborghini and Alpine will all
bring their LMDh machines to Le Mans next year
as the field expands, while Glikenhaus will
withdraw from endurance racing’s top category.
Peugeot
The Hypercar category replaced LMP1 in 2021,
but confusingly, the category is made up of two
types of car: one called Hypercar, which offers
significant design freedom and another called
LMDh, which is cheaper because teams must
use several off-the-shelf parts. Read more about
the latter in our What is LMDh? article
Peugeot’s 9X8 competing at Fuji in 2022
Hypercar rules
Hypercars are more in the spirit of pioneering
efforts from Le Mans’ past rather than the more
prescribed LMDh cars. The key features are
below, with more detail further down the page:
Ability to use hybrid or non-hybrid powertrain
Maximum power: 671bhp
Minimum weight: 1030kg
Aerodynamic “performance window” allows
teams more design freedom
Development is frozen once cars enter WEC
Close racing enforced by Balance of
Performance changes
Getty Images
While teams are free to develop Hypercars from
road-going models, all current teams have
developed theirs from the ground up.
No rear wing for Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar
Instead of endless rules that stipulate the
specifications and dimensions of individual
components, designers are relatively free to
choose their own solutions, based on
performance windows.
That’s why Hypercars have a range of V6, V8;
hybrid and non-hybrid engines to achieve the
stipulated maximum of 500kW (671bhp).
Aerodynamic simulations are carried out to
ensure similar levels of downforce, which left
Peugeot free to build a car without a rear wing,
relying on ground-effect to generate downforce.
Hypercar teams
Ferrari is going head to head with Le Mans
Hypercar (LMH) rivals Toyota, Peugeot, and
Vanwall fighting for overall victories at Le Mans
and in the World Endurance Championship.
They are also fighting LMDh rivals in the
Hypercar category: Porsche and Cadillac are
competing at Le Mans this year. In 2024, they’ll
be joined next year by BMW, Lamborghini and
Alpine. The Balance of Performance system is
meant to ensure a level playing field between
LMH and LMDh.
Toyota GR010 Hybrid takes advantage of great freedom afforded
by LMH rules
Toyota
Le Mans Hypercar vs LMDh
Le Mans Hypercars will go head to head with
LMDh in both WEC, which includes the Le Mans
24 Hours, and the American IMSA series.
Some key aspects, such as maximum power,
are identical, but there are substantial
differences. The Balance of Performance system
is designed to ensure equivalent performance
across both types of car.
Hypercar
LMDh
671bhp
Maximum
power
671bhp
1030kg
Minimum
weight
1030kg
Downforce to
drag ratio: 4:1
Aerodynamic
performance
window
Downforce to
drag ratio: 4:1
Free choice of
petrol engine
Powertrain
Free choice of
petrol engine
Hybrid system
Mandatory,
spec system, on
rear axle
In-house design
Chassis
LMP2-based
design from
approved
manufacturer
Free choice
Gearbox
Standard
design
Optional, on
front axle
One element that can give LMH cars an
advantage is that their front-axle hybrid systems
provide four-wheel drive, with the combustion
engine driving the rear axle and an electric
motor at the front.
If it rains, then the Hypercars should technically
be at a great advantage. Making efforts to
negate this, the ACO has made it so Hypercars
can’t engage their electric drive in normal racing
conditions when running under 75mph.
Balance of Performance (BoP)
Officials can adjust the power and weight of cars
to ensure similar levels of performance and
close racing. This is usually based on simulation
data, to reduce the chances of teams
‘sandbagging’ — hiding their true performance to
avoid an unfavourable decision ahead of a big
race.
Teams’ energy allowance can be varied, giving
them more performance per lap, and ballast can
be added.
Following the 2023 Six Hours of Spa, the race
prior to Le Mans and often seen as indicative of
performance, the FIA and ACO announced
further BoP changes for the blue riband race in
the form of extra ballast relative to their pace in
Belgium.
Toyota was handed 37kg,
Ferrari 24kg, Cadillac 11kg and Porsche 3kg,
with some teams understood to be unhappy
about the late changes, after having prepared for
the race without them.
The BoP system is only intended to tweak pace,
and is applied across Hypercar and LMDh cars.
What does LMH stand for?
LM stands for Le Mans, indicating the ACO
(Automobile Club de L’Ouest) use of the rules
also its adoption for the WEC, whilst H stands for
Hypercar.
Slightly confusingly, in WEC, the entrants will be
in a class called ‘Hypercar’, which will include
both the LMH cars and the LMDh.
Le Mans Hypercar regulations
explained
Chassis
Along with the powertrain, the chassis is
possibly the biggest differentiator from LMDh.
While LMDh teams must purchase a
predesignated LMP2 chassis from Ligier, Oreca,
Dallara or Multimatic, LMH teams are free to
create their own chassis within the above
dimensions mentioned, which can be based on a
road-going hypercar or a specialised prototype.
Whilst the road-going rule was brought in to
accommodate Aston Martin and its now-paused
Valkyrie project, Hypercar manufacturers have
so far designed their cars from scratch, without
producing any road versions.
Peugeot’s Hypercar powertrain uses a V6 hybrid engine with a
front-axle hybrid system
Peugeot
Powertrain
Entrants are free to make their own choices on
power unit, the only proviso being that it mustn’t
be diesel-fuelled.
The maximum power output of the engine must
be 500kW (670bhp), also aligned with LMDh
cars.
Hybrid system
Whereas in LMDh a spec hybrid system is
mandatory, LMH entrants can elect whether to
run a hybrid system or not. If they do, the
combustion engine must drive the rear axle and
the electric motor powers the front.
If an LMH team opts for a hybrid system, its
maximum output must be 200kW (268bhp).
Hybrid cars are restricted in their deployment in
the dry, with the electric motor not providing
drive when under 120km/h (75mph). In the wet,
that limit rises to 150km/h (91mph).
Hybrid engines should have an advantage over
non-hybrids both in terms of the immediacy of
power delivery and fuel consumption.
Aerodynamics
Both LMH and LMDh are required to have a
limited downforce to drag ratio of 4:1.
An appeal of LMH is that designers have much
greater leeway in terms of styling their own
bodywork compared to LMDh, a potential boon
to the marketing possibilities of manufacturers, in
addition to the freedom it brings to packaging
and setting up the car.
Performance
Ferrari’s Hypercar clinched pole at this year’s Le
Mans 24 Hours with a 3min 22.982sec lap time,
which is already 7sec faster than predicted
before the category was introduced.
However, it is still slower than Kamui Kobayshi’s
current lap record for Toyota, set in 2020
qualifying at 3min 14.791.
Cost
Whilst a host of measures have been brought in
as part of an effort to reduce costs, primarily
centred around the BoP and restrictive
aerodynamic package. The fact remains that
there is no hard and fast cost cap for LMH.
As a result, the class’s development costs,
through use of its own chassis and powertrains,
are far in excess of LMDh.
However, it’s thought unlikely to reach peak
LMP1 levels of spending. As an example,
Porsche’s 919 LMP1 programme, which was run
between 2014-2017 and only eligible to race in
WEC, is said to have cost $200m. The new rules
are designed in part to negate anything near this
kind of outlay.
Le Mans Hypercar entries:
confirmed teams
Toyota GR010 HYBRID – heir to TS050’s throne
Paulo Maria / DPPI
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Toyota was first to unveil its new Le Mans
Hypercar, the GR010 Hybrid in 2020, and has
been racing since the LMP1 era gave way to
Hypercars in 2021.
The formidable machine has won both World
Endurance Championships since then, as well
as all WEC races so far this season. Rivals say
that its pace and reliability, combined with the
team’s experience, make it favourite for Le
Mans.
Related article
Lamborghini unveils Le Mans
LMDh Hypercar – All entries,
rules and specs
The team has opted to design an entirely new
hybrid system. The hybrid racer will be fourwheel drive, with a 3.5 litre V6 twin-turbo
powering the rear axle with 671bhp. The frontaxle will have 270bhp provided to it with an
electric motor.
The total power is capped at 500kW (671bhp) in
LMH rules, with the GR010 Hybrid’s advanced
electronics dictate the amount of hybrid boost
used to ensure it doesn’t go over the limit
The team has maintained a stable driver line-up,
which includes team boss Kamui Kobayashi.
He’s joined in the No7 car by fellow WEC
champions Mike Conway and José María López.
The No8 car is driven by Sébastien Buemi, Ryo
Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley.
Glickenhaus led at Monza in 2022, only for a turbo failure during
the race
Joao Filipe / DPPI
Glickenhaus
The American Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
team has a single Italian-built SCG007 entered
full-time WEC, after running two cars at Le Mans
2022. It has gone non-hybrid, plumping for a
bespoke twin-turbo V8 produced by Pipo
Moteurs.
The US-based company recently announced a
link-up with 15-times Le Mans winner Joest
Racing, provide personnel and support to the
race team. Sauber have been employed to
develop the aerodynamics, the Swiss squad
having won Le Mans overall with Mercedes in
1989.
The drivers being run at Le Mans by
Glickenhaus are Pipo Derani, Romain Dumas,
and Olivier Pla in the No708, and Franck
Mailleux, Nathanaël Berthon and Esteban
Gutierrez in the No709.
Founder Jim Glickenhaus has also indicated his
willingness to take his cars over to his home
nation for races in IMSA.
“I want to do Daytona and I want to Sebring and
why not Petit Le Mans [at Road Atlanta] as
well?” he said.
“I’m more interested in those races than I am in
going to Bahrain, Japan or wherever to race in
the WEC: I don’t sell [road] cars there, but I do in
America.”
Peugeot acquitted itself well in Monza despite inevitable
reliability gremlins on first showing
DPPI
Peugeot
After unveiling its radical new 9X8 Le Mans
Hypercar to compete at the enduro classic and
WEC in 2022, Peugeot made its debut at that
year’s 6 Hours of Monza.
Utilising a hybrid power system, the car’s rear
wheels are powered by 671bhp petrol engine,
whilst the front axle is turned by a 268bhp
electric motor. Glickenhaus and Toyota also use
twin-turbo V6s.
Initial images of the 9X8 saw it feature no rear
wing, with the team generating downforce from
the under-floor of the car and other parts of the
rear bodywork.
Peugeot’s driver line-up features two-time
Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne, 2020 Le
Mans LMP2 winner Paul Di Resta, eight-time
DTM race-winner Nico Müller, 2013 overall
winner Loïc Duval, Gustavo Menezes and Mikkel
Jensen.
Ferrari is back at Le Mans after 50 years
Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari announced its Le Mans Hypercar
programme in February 2022, after several
months of speculation. The team had openly
said that it was examining the possibility and
now returns to the Le Mans 24 Hours race on its
centenary.
Ferrari has locked out the front row for this year’s Le Mans 24
Hours
The 499P Le Mans Hypercar was revealed last
October at Ferrari’s Finali Mondiali extravaganza
at Imola.
“We chose LMH because it is important for
Ferrari to make all the car and all the parts,” said
Competizione GT boss Antonello Coletta, who
revealed the 900v battery powering the bespoke
200kW ERS has been developed from learnings
gained in Formula 1. “Ferrari is a constructor, the
manufacturer of the car, and for us it is not our
philosophy to buy a part. We decided to come
back into prototypes when the rules gave us the
chance to make all the car. This car is a
manifesto of the technologies of Ferrari.”
The team has made a brilliant return to the top
table of sports car racing, taking a pole on debut
in Sebring and locking out the front row in Le
Mans, before its No51 car of Alessandro Pier
Guidi, James Calado and former F1 driver
Antonio Giovinazzi went on to win the race.
The No50 sister car has former GT drivers
Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas
Nielsen, with the N051 featuring
Aston Martin
Ferrari
Adding to its current tally of nine overall wins is
undoubtedly the target for a brand once
synonymous with the blue riband enduro.