McLaren Racing has announced the designation of its FIA Hypercar, marking the team’s highly anticipated return to the summit of endurance motorsport. The McLaren MCL-HY is set to contend for overall victories in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning in 2027, entering the fray during what is widely regarded as a golden age for endurance racing.
In addition to its WEC and Le Mans campaign, McLaren has unveiled a dedicated track car derivative and an exclusive track day programme, granting privileged enthusiasts unique access to the marque’s return to the top echelon of sports car competition via the ultra-exclusive Project: Endurance initiative.
The MCL-HY designation follows McLaren Racing’s established Formula 1 nomenclature, merging the ‘MCL’ prefix with the Hypercar-specific ‘HY’ suffix. This approach highlights McLaren’s cohesive motorsport identity at the elite level and shows its commitment to the WEC platform.
For the MCL-HY GTR track car variant, McLaren Automotive has selected a name steeped in racing heritage, further elevating this singular offering.
Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, Chief Commercial Officer at McLaren Automotive, affirms that the MCL‑HY GTR advances a storied lineage, tracing its roots to the McLaren F1 GTR’s legendary Le Mans triumph in 1995, and continuing through the McLaren P1 GTR™ and Senna GTR models. According to Wilhelmsmeyer, the GTR badge symbolises defining moments in McLaren’s motorsport history, with the MCL‑HY GTR poised to author the next chapter for the brand’s most focused and uncompromising track machines.
This announcement sets the stage for the formal unveiling on May 4 of both the 2027 Hypercar and its track-focused counterpart, each the result of a close technical partnership between McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive.
James Barclay, Executive Director of McLaren Endurance Racing, highlights the significance of returning the McLaren name to the forefront of sportscar racing, describing it as a major milestone for both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive. Barclay notes that the new Hypercar name honors the marque’s illustrious racing heritage and acknowledges the ongoing success of the Hypercar category in this golden era of endurance competition. The development MCL-HY will debut in a distinctive test livery ahead of its initial rollout.
