As anybody watching the World Endurance Championship in general or the Le Mans race in particular has noticed, things aren't exactly spectacular at the top - with Porsche out, Toyota is basically racing itself in the top tier LMP1 class. However, the FIA is preparing a new hypercar class that promises to bring back the good old days of racing, when the tie between race and road cars was stronger.
The new racers will join the 2020/2021 superseason in September 2020, while they will be eligible to compete at Le Mans in 2021.
Multiple carmakers are currently considering jumping the bandwagon, while the new tier hasn't received a nameplate yet. The list of carmakers that might be interested in taking part ranges from Ford, which is currently engaged in the GTE Pro class, to Koenigsegg, for which the step into the motorsport realm would be a massive leap.
As you can imagine, Ferrari is one of the top brands involved in the preparation of the GTP action, even though the Italian automotive producer hasn't officially confirmed it would take part in the series.
Nevertheless, a set of images showcasing a prototype that could be Maranello's new racecar has now hit the web - you'll find these in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, which is actually a slideshow.
The racer seems to resemble the LaFerrari, but this looks like an early mule, so we can't be certain of the design. Speaking of which, we'll remind you that the LaF already has a racing version. We're referring to the FXX K, which is mainly used for a one-make racing series.
The newcomers will pack hybrid powertrains, with the current specifications talking about a 700 hp limit for the internal combustion engines and a 272 hp limit for the electric power.
The Le Mans target lap time of 3:24-3:25 means the new hypercar class will be slotted in between the LPM1 and the LMP2.
As for the budget, this will be limited to about 20 million for a factory team and 16 million for privateers - note that any homologated hybrid system must be offered to privateers for 2 million per season.
Multiple carmakers are currently considering jumping the bandwagon, while the new tier hasn't received a nameplate yet. The list of carmakers that might be interested in taking part ranges from Ford, which is currently engaged in the GTE Pro class, to Koenigsegg, for which the step into the motorsport realm would be a massive leap.
As you can imagine, Ferrari is one of the top brands involved in the preparation of the GTP action, even though the Italian automotive producer hasn't officially confirmed it would take part in the series.
Nevertheless, a set of images showcasing a prototype that could be Maranello's new racecar has now hit the web - you'll find these in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, which is actually a slideshow.
The racer seems to resemble the LaFerrari, but this looks like an early mule, so we can't be certain of the design. Speaking of which, we'll remind you that the LaF already has a racing version. We're referring to the FXX K, which is mainly used for a one-make racing series.
The newcomers will pack hybrid powertrains, with the current specifications talking about a 700 hp limit for the internal combustion engines and a 272 hp limit for the electric power.
The Le Mans target lap time of 3:24-3:25 means the new hypercar class will be slotted in between the LPM1 and the LMP2.
As for the budget, this will be limited to about 20 million for a factory team and 16 million for privateers - note that any homologated hybrid system must be offered to privateers for 2 million per season.