Tag Archives: WEC

2024 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo

On March 2, the new season of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) starts, and the teams are making final preparations by presenting their cars with which they will try to win the championship title. One of them is McLaren with its new car, the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

For the first time, McLaren will compete in all three “Triple Crown” races in the same year, having won each of them individually in the past. On the track will be two cars in a combination of black and orange colors with the numbers 65 and 95, which mark McLaren’s victory at Le Mans in 1995 with the F1 GTR model.

The McLaren 720S GT3 Evo is equipped with larger air intakes on both sides, a set of wider wings, larger bumpers and a splitter allowing teams to quickly change parts. By installing new body parts, additional downforce and stability of the vehicle on the track is greater. At the back, the rear wing is placed slightly higher to further increase downforce. Also, this season McLaren will use Goodyear instead of Pirelli tires.

When it comes to the powertrain, the 720S GT3 Evo will be powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with between 550 and 600 hp (410 – 447 kW). We will have more information about the performance at the beginning of the season.

Source: McLaren

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2024 Aston Martin Vantage GT3

Aston Martin has unveiled the racing version of its fastest and most driver-focused Vantage, the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The car debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona last month, and now it has its official premiere.

Basically, this is a standard Vantage modified for the WEC (World Endurance Championship). It is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with about 535 hp (399 kW). All cars in the GT3 class must weigh between 1,200 and 1,300 kg.

This purebred racer with the unmistakable design language of the Vantage road car takes your breath away. Compared to the standard Vantage, it is equipped with a new front part made of carbon fiber with a wider aperture that allows more air to cool the brakes, full-width laser light, shorter splitter, large louvres in the top of the front wheel arches.

Marco Mattiacci, Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of Aston Martin said: “These new generation GT3 cars are more dependent than ever on aerodynamic downforce, so we wanted to make the car more stable under braking. The old car would dive a lot under braking, so we had to try and control the pitch with the rear suspension set-up. But this meant it was stiff, which made it quite snappy and, also over-worked the tires. Working heavily on damper tuning, we have found a much better balance with the new car so we can generate the downforce without compromising the suspension set-up. The result is much-improved progression and greater stability in all conditions. It also works its tires much more evenly, so teams have more options on strategy. The feedback from drivers who’ve tested it has been overwhelmingly positive. Especially the amateur racers, who have been able to achieve lap times that are much closer to the Pros. Now we need to go racing!”

The Vantage GT3 is very popular with racing car buyers, and the company believes it will have 30 cars on tracks around the world by the end of this year’s season. This is partly due to the fact that Aston already has many teams using its car, but also because it can be used in different series.

Source: Aston Martin

Gold Porsche 963 LMDh ready for the new WEC season

In July 2022, Porsche unveiled a new racing car that the Porsche Penske Motorsport team (Hertz Team JOTA) will use in the Hypercar class in the WEC (World Endurance Championship) starting on March 17. The Porsche 963 LMDh is ready for the race and the external appearance was done in cooperation with the American company Singer.

The car is finished in gold and has a large rear wing with LED lights on the sides, an LED light bar, large wheel arches and Michelin Pilot Sport tires. The drivers will be Yifei Ye, Antonio Felix da Costa and Will Stevens, and among the sponsors who supported the British team is the American company Singer, which is considered the first name in the world of Porsche 911-themed restomod projects.

Hertz Team JOTA, led by David Clark and Sam Hignett, is happy to be among the participants of the legendary French Le Mans 24 Hours race, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this season. It is certain that the past successes in the 24 Hour Le Mans, which Team JOTA achieved in the lower categories, promise success.

When it comes to powertrain, the LMDh is powered by a 4.6-liter turbocharged V8 engine that, combined with an electric motor, delivers a total power of 670 hp (493 kW). These may not be large numbers, but according to current regulations, the engine power must not exceed 680 hp (500 kW).

Source: Hertz Team JOTA

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