McLaren confirms MCL-HY Hypercar name for 2027 WEC
McLaren will reveal its Hypercar on May 4th, ahead of its return to the pinnacle of endurance racing in the 2027 World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Named MCL-HY, the car will compete alongside the biggest hitters in endurance racing in the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. There is also the chance for customers to own an MCL-HY GTR track car variant as part of the Project: Endurance experience. Those buying will get access to a supporting track day programme and an exclusive insight into the British team’s return to hypercar racing.
The MCL-HY name is quite simple to grasp, combining the ‘MCL’ McLaren prefix with ‘HY’ Hypercar designation.
McLaren currently competes in the LMGT3 class of endurance racing in 720S GT3 Evos as part of the Garage 59 race team, who took over from United Autosports. Garage 59 is named in tribute to the number that the Woking-based brand’s Le Mans–winning F1 GTR won with in 1995.
“We are writing the next chapter”
Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, Chief Commercial Officer, McLaren Automotive said: “The MCL‑HY GTR proudly continues a lineage that began with the McLaren F1 GTR’s outright Le Mans victory in 1995 and then continued with the McLaren P1 GTR and McLaren Senna GTR track cars. This badge stands for moments that define McLaren. With the MCL‑HY GTR, we are writing the next chapter for our most focused, authentic, and uncompromising track cars.”
James Barclay, Executive Director of McLaren Endurance Racing said: “Taking the McLaren name back to the pinnacle of sportscar racing is a huge milestone and it’s a proud time for everyone within McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive to share the name of our new Hypercar that follows in the footsteps of an incredible lineage of McLaren racing cars. We are in a golden era of sportscar racing and the Hypercar category continues to be extremely successful, and our new car name shows respect to that. Our development MCL-HY will be revealed in its incredibly cool test livery ahead of our first rollout.”
words: Mike Booth
picture: McLaren Automotive