Photo: McLaren
McLaren is one of the most prestigious names in motorsport and car making. The British company has been a constant presence in our lives for decades, but only over the past few years has it climbed to such a level of recognition that it's no escaping its reach.
What that means is McLaren has been releasing new models recently like there is no tomorrow, and it's supporting each launch with additional moves meant to make its products as visible as possible.
At the beginning of this year, for instance, McLaren introduced the new interpretation of the 720S GT3 EVO race car, a machine meant to be "at the head of the international GT3 field into the 2023 season and beyond." It seems what the use of the "beyond” meant was a McLaren presence in the 2024 Le Mans race, something that hasn't happened in a quarter of a century.
The Brits said this week they will be entering the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with at least three 720S GT3 EVO race cars. Two of them will be fielded by racing partner United Autosports in the LMGT3 class, with the third to be used by Inception Racing.
WEC is the endurance competition where the big boys play. The next season will comprise eight rounds, with the first one scheduled for March in Qatar, and the last one in Bahrain in November 2024.
The most coveted race of them all, Le Mans, is scheduled next year for the weekend of June 15. The track has seen plenty of McLaren cars before, but next year's edition will be the first in 26 years that teh company's name will be on the tarmac.
The presence of the British EVOs on the French circuit also comes 29 years after McLaren debuted with a win there. Back in 1995, one McLaren F1 GTR was raced to the win by a trio comprising Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya, and JJ Lehto.
Coincidentally, 1995 was also the year when McLaren completed the coveted Triple Crown wins. It had previously scored victories at Indy 500 in 1974, and at Monaco in 1984. To honor the achievement, the company released earlier this year a special version of the 750S.
Paying tribute to the same achievement, the race cars that will be on the field in the 2024 WEC races will wear race numbers 59 (after the Le Mans-winning F1 GTR) and 95, after the year of the Le Mans win.
As for the car, the 720S GT3 EVO in its current configuration comes with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine slapped over the carbon fiber MonoCage II chassis. Both are hidden by a body that is McLaren in the purest form, but taken one step further by a wealth of aerodynamic cues and elements.
At the beginning of this year, for instance, McLaren introduced the new interpretation of the 720S GT3 EVO race car, a machine meant to be "at the head of the international GT3 field into the 2023 season and beyond." It seems what the use of the "beyond” meant was a McLaren presence in the 2024 Le Mans race, something that hasn't happened in a quarter of a century.
The Brits said this week they will be entering the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with at least three 720S GT3 EVO race cars. Two of them will be fielded by racing partner United Autosports in the LMGT3 class, with the third to be used by Inception Racing.
WEC is the endurance competition where the big boys play. The next season will comprise eight rounds, with the first one scheduled for March in Qatar, and the last one in Bahrain in November 2024.
The most coveted race of them all, Le Mans, is scheduled next year for the weekend of June 15. The track has seen plenty of McLaren cars before, but next year's edition will be the first in 26 years that teh company's name will be on the tarmac.
The presence of the British EVOs on the French circuit also comes 29 years after McLaren debuted with a win there. Back in 1995, one McLaren F1 GTR was raced to the win by a trio comprising Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya, and JJ Lehto.
Coincidentally, 1995 was also the year when McLaren completed the coveted Triple Crown wins. It had previously scored victories at Indy 500 in 1974, and at Monaco in 1984. To honor the achievement, the company released earlier this year a special version of the 750S.
Paying tribute to the same achievement, the race cars that will be on the field in the 2024 WEC races will wear race numbers 59 (after the Le Mans-winning F1 GTR) and 95, after the year of the Le Mans win.
As for the car, the 720S GT3 EVO in its current configuration comes with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine slapped over the carbon fiber MonoCage II chassis. Both are hidden by a body that is McLaren in the purest form, but taken one step further by a wealth of aerodynamic cues and elements.
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