McLaren unveils new MCL-HY racer for 2027

Just one look through the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship is enough to restore any lost faith in motorsport. From Aston Valkyrie to Cadillac V-Series.R, Peugeot 9X8 to Genesis GMR-001, there’s a multitude of fantastic racers recently introduced to the top tier of sportscar racing. Typically the demise of a Porsche factory effort in a series would be the death knell for a championship, yet the WEC remains as compelling as ever. Ferrari is winning successive Le Mans like it’s the ’60s again, the Aston Martin is reminding everyone why V12s are the best engines, and now McLaren is back at the highest level once more with this, the MCL-HY. And yes, they are already talking about the F1’s win at La Sarthe in 1995. Hard not to, really. 

Rubbish name aside, the MCL-HY comes equipped with everything you might expect of a competitive Hypercar. The Valkyrie, for example, is an epic spectacle, but hasn’t exactly been romping away from the field. Whereas the Ferrari 499P, with its twin-turbo V6, has been conspicuously successful. So the McLaren has a twin-turbo V6 as well, which delivers up to 707hp to the rear wheels with some hybrid help. Obviously the MCL-HY is carbon chassis’d, with a minimum weight of 1,030kg. McLaren says that the new car has been ‘developed to balance outright performance with endurance racing efficiency, designed to operate at the very highest level of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the demanding 24 Hours of Le Mans.’

While the orange will be the clearest giveaway to the MCL’s identity, there’s definitely a recognisable McLaren face here as well. Apparently there really has been some input from the road car side as well, though it’s surely likely to have been a small contribution; outright performance obviously beats all other considerations when it comes to the look of a competition machine. McLaren reckons that the appearance of its new Hypercar ‘has been shaped by a tightly integrated collaboration applying world-class engineering and aerodynamics capability from McLaren Racing and drawing on the design expertise of McLaren Automotive, to integrate McLaren’s design DNA.’ 

As for the silver car seen here, that’s a slightly different MCL-HY. With another name that looks like it’s come straight from a Boggle board, it’s an MCL-HY GTR. A badge familiar from the F1, and as resurrected more recently with cars like the P1 and Senna, it’s the track-only, customer variant of the race car, promising an even more extreme experience than ever. If Ferrari can make a 499P Modificata, then McLaren can make an MCL-HY GTR. As has become the norm with these track-only motorsport machines, GTR customers will get incredible opportunities to drive their car, with a six-event programme ‘curated across premier international circuits’ already lined up. Each of those will have driver coaches, pit crew engineers in attendance for billionaires to play at racing driver for the weekend. 

Interestingly, the car itself will be a bit different from the actual Hypercar, forfeiting the hybrid system entirely to leave just the V6 in a 730hp tune. McLaren says the decision has been made for a ‘purer driving experience on track days’, perhaps reflecting the general wariness of hybridisation on planet hypercar. It also points to ‘a simpler ownership model that prioritises accessibility above all else’.

For a car that’s only going to be driven occasionally, and knowing how temperamental hybrids can be if left unused, it’s probably a good decision for arriving and driving. McLaren says first deliveries of the MCL-HY GTR are coming towards the end of next year, so expect the first road car conversion project to be announced in 2028. As for the race car, the rest of 2026 will be spent exhaustively testing, ahead of homologation for next season. Le Mans 2027 will be here before you know it…