McLaren returns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans after 26 years
In 1995, the McLaren F1 GTR made history by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, beating out a host of high-speed sports car prototypes to take the overall victory.
McLaren ran the F1 GTR for three more years, finishing second overall and winning the GT1 class in the 1997 race.
Twenty-six years later, McLaren finally returned to the Sarthe circuit with the 720S GT3 Evo. This racing car shared many components with the 720S supercar and the 750S supercar, an evolution of the 720S. These include carbon fiber tubing and a 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo engine.
The V-8 engine has several race-specific modifications, including a restrictor to comply with the Balance of Performance rules. The engine is also mated to a six-speed sequential transmission rather than the road car's seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Aerodynamics and suspension have also been modified for racing, McLaren said. [Three 720S GT3 Evo cars will be entered in the production-based LMGT3 class at this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two of the cars will be entered by United Autosports, which will compete in the full 2024 World Endurance Championship highlighted by the Le Mans race, while the third car will be entered by Inception Racing.
Confirmed drivers are James Cottingham, Nicolas Costa, and Gregoire Saucy in car 59, which has the same number as the 1995 winning F1 GTR; Hiroshi Hamaguchi, Marino Sato, Nicolas Pino in car 95; Brendan Iribe, 95, Ollie Milroy, and Frederick Schandorff in the no. 70 car.
Racing cars based on the Aston Martin Vantage, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ferrari 296 GTB, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Huracan, Lexus RC F, and Porsche 911 against the McLarens in the LMGT3 class are.
