In brief
- Graphic design agency BOLD House created the poster for the 95th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (9–13 June 2027), round 5 of the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.
- The focal point of the design is the heroic driver.
- The AI-free poster is the result of collaboration between the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), graphic design studio Bold House and photographer Mister Fifou.
- The race posters do much more than promote the annual event. They become collectors items – a lasting souvenir for fans.
How was the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans poster designed?
Given the wealth of history behind the race, designing the 24 Hours of Le Mans poster is a challenge. For the 95th event, 9–13 June 2027, BOLD House elected to depart from traditional images of motorsport. The idea was to portray the driver as an iconic rock star thanks to photographer Mister Fifou’s music industry expertise. The creative process is in line with the race’s new branding and echoes the event website’s claim to: “Put emotion first.”
Respecting and perpetuating our 100-year history
Before the design work began, our team set out to determine the message to be conveyed. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is not just another race. This event has been attracting motorsport fans for generations, producing tales of human endeavour, and contributing to the aura of the automobile that extends way beyond the circuit.
The heritage aspect was the first challenge met by BOLD House. Before they even started work, the agency first had to take onboard the weight of the race heritage.
Rather than use a tried and tested recipe, they set about finding a contemporary angle that would respect the event’s glorious history without tying it to the past. The brief was to represent the 2027 edition, and highlight the new 24 Hours of Le Mans branding. In short, be totally different without disowning race heritage.
driver or rock star?
BOLD House therefore sought inspiration beyond the realm of motorsport, drawing inspiration from record sleeves featuring Daft Punk and Michael Jackson.
Like race posters, album covers are often hung on walls for years.
In the scene created, the driver is not just the person at the wheel of a car. She or he is a star, the centre of attention. Just like a lead singer waiting before curtain up, this driver portrays the peculiar tension of the moment that precedes action.
BOLD House enlisted the help of Mister Fifou, a photographer widely acknowledged within the music industry. His expertise, in particular the lighting, contrast, and composition produces a cinematographic atmosphere.
Rock stars and racing drivers share staying power, a need for meticulous preparation, and moments of intense feeling. In both cases, an image can reflect the depth of emotion.
A mystery driver represents the 186 drivers in the race line-up
A lone driver takes centre stage on the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans poster. However, the figure remains purposely unidentifiable.
The story of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is often told in terms of cars, makes and manufacturers. However, behind every machine, there are men and women who stand up to pressure, deal with uncertainty and fend off fatigue for a full 24 hours.
This year, BOLD House set out to pay tribute to drivers in the form of a universal icon.The figure embodies all the drivers, men and women, who have shared their destiny with Le Mans.
In masking the face, the helmet frees the imagination. Some will see their favourite, driver, past or present. Others might see themselves.
The artistic approach is inclusive. The poster portrays any driver, and all drivers at once.
The intention was also to provoke a form of fascination. “You don’t know who is behind the visor, but you feel the magnitude of the moment. We set out to capture that moment, when a driver is about to take the wheel, or a star about to take the stage.”
The poster translates that sensation without describing it literally. It doesn’t show the race. It incites the desire to experience it.
A 100% original, human-crafted creation
The poster was designed without the use of artificial intelligence, as specified by the new ACO brand book. BOLD House saw the constraint as an opportunity to human creativity and artwork.
The collaboration with Mister Fifou followed the same guidelines. Every detail was imagined and orchestrated by real people: the driver’s stance, the light, the contrasts and the composition. And every detail serves a purpose, contributes to the overall effect.
The complementarity between the BOLD House team’s creative vision on one hand and the photographer’s translation of that vision was a pivotal aspect of the project’s success.
A collector piece
Official 24 Hours of Le Mans posters have a much longer lifetime than the year of the race they promote. Many fans keep them as souvenirs for many years, or hang a framed copy on a wall.
BOLD House designed this year’s poster with that aspect in mind. The agency drew inspiration from vintage vinyl records, many of which are treasured like works of art and framed for posterity.
24 Hours of Le Mans posters are no different. Many are displayed in living rooms, offices and garages all over the world, bearing witness to a style, or an era, and evoking happy memories.
“If this poster is still seen on walls twenty years from now, we’ll have succeeded in producing something that surpasses event promotion, say BOLD House.
And that is the crux of the matter here. The requirement is to promote an annual event destined to become a lasting memory. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a real-life, in-the-moment experience, yet the aura surrounding it is a patchwork of the memories of those who have experienced it.
See you at the circuit from 9 to 13 June for the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans! A new chapter is about to be written. And you can be part of it.
See also: Tickets go on sale on Friday 6 November for next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans!
FAQ: The 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans Poster
Who designed the official 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans?
Graphic design agency BOLD House designed the poster to the specifications issued by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. The project involved photographer Mister Fifou, whose expertise gives the image its cinematographic quality.
Why is the driver portrayed as a rock star on the 2027 poster?
BOLD House drew inspiration from the music industry and its emblematic record sleeves, in particular Daft Punk’s and Michael Jackson’s. As such, they present the racing driver as a star, portraying the moment of concentration and tension before the race start.
Why isn’t the driver on the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans recognisable?
The poster features any and every driver, past, present or future. The figure represents the drivers whose destiny is already entwined with the race, or will be. Thanks to this approach, viewers can project their own idea of who is behind the visor, and their own vision of the race.
Was artificial intelligence involved in the design of the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans poster?
No. No artificial intelligence was employed, as stipulated in the new brand guidelines. The AI-free poster is the result of collaboration between the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), graphic design studio Bold House and photographer Mister Fifou.
How long did it take to design the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans poster?
It took less than two months from brief to print. In that short time, the agency explored several creative avenues and the ACO made the final choice.
When is the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans?
The 95th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is 9–13 June 2027. It will be the fifth round of the 2027 World Endurance Championship. Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, McLaren, Peugeot and Toyota make up the Hypercar field. The 2027 edition continues the fabulous history of the world’s greatest endurance race!
- 24 Heures du Mans
