24h Le Mans
At the 2025 24 Hours, McLaren officially announced its Hypercar destined for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2027. The British constructor has hidden a series of numbers on the car's bodywork, and here's a breakdown.
134513
This curious number combination sums up one of McLaren's greatest endurance racing feats. It is the finishing positions of the five McLaren F1 GTRs at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans : 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th. For the marque's first official participation, the performance was astounding.
1995/95
The year of McLaren's win at the 24 Hours.
F1 GTR
The iconic model that won Le Mans.
L.D.S
The initials of the winning trio: J.J Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya.
681024
A lesser known figure, but just as symbolic, this is the number of minutes in a full season of the WEC, a subtle way of suggesting McLaren is geared up to face every minute of competition.
01.R
The chassis number of the McLaren F1 GTR winner in 1995.
59
The racing number of the same car, now a 24 Hours of Le Mans legend.
748495
A combination of three key dates in the history of McLaren:
2027
The year of McLaren's official entry in Hypercar in the WEC.
Every code tells a part of McLaren's story. The carmaker clearly intends to begin a new chapter in its endurance racing legacy while in no way forgetting its history.
The presentation of the car revealed more about the programme launching in 2027. The cars will be entered in partnership with United Autosports, a top contender in LMP2 since 2017. The Hypercar will be equipped with a twin-turbo V6 engine designed by McLaren and McLaren Automotive. Finally, the chassis will be developed and constructed by Dallara. The Italian manufacturer also designed the chassis for the Cadillac V-Series R, Porsche 963 and BMW M Hybrid V8.
The car is on display at the 24 Hours Museum through Sunday 29 June.
