The hypercar surge gathered pace this year as fresh factory programs and privateer efforts swelled the WEC and IMSA grids, reshaping the balance at the front. Lamborghini, Alpine, BMW, and Isotta Fraschini joined the fight across 2024, while Aston Martin finalised a 2025 return with the Valkyrie. The influx arrived alongside key customer expansions for Porsche and a refined Peugeot, setting a deeper competitive baseline. With Ferrari successfully defending Le Mans in June and Porsche opening the WEC campaign with a Qatar win, the stage is set for an even more crowded top class through next season.
WEC’s Hypercar class entered 2024 with unprecedented depth after regulation stability invited fresh commitments. Porsche Penske Motorsport seized the season opener in Qatar, underlining the 963’s maturity, while Ferrari defended Le Mans in June with the 499P to cement its comeback narrative. Toyota, a constant reference, maintained pressure with podiums and mid-season wins, and Peugeot’s revised 9X8—now with a rear wing—closed the gap after its bold first iteration. The grid also absorbed exits from Glickenhaus and Vanwall, offset by customer growth from Jota and Proton with additional Porsche 963s.
Lamborghini’s SC63 began its dual-continent campaign with Iron Lynx, tackling the full WEC season and IMSA’s Michelin Endurance Cup. The car showed flashes of pace offset by reliability learning curves typical of a ground-up debut. The program prioritised mileage—particularly in traffic and heat management—to stabilise race execution. Lamborghini has targeted a broader IMSA footprint following its partial 2024 slate, with the intent to scale once durability and operational depth are fully proven.
Alpine returned to the top class with the A424 LMDh under the Alpine Endurance Team banner, headlined by Mick Schumacher’s sports-car debut. The car demonstrated promising one-lap speed but suffered engine-related retirements for both entries at Le Mans, prompting an intensified reliability push through the summer. BMW joined the WEC field with Team WRT’s M Hybrid V8, complementing its ongoing IMSA factory effort, and has led laps and contended on strategy even as incidents blunted headline results. Together, Alpine and BMW have added critical manufacturer diversity, deepening the tactical complexity around safety cars, stint lengths, and tire offsets.
Privateer Isotta Fraschini advanced its full-season LMH project with Duqueine, logging valuable green-flag mileage and making the finish at marquee rounds to validate development. Looking ahead, Aston Martin locked in a 2025 WEC return with the Valkyrie AMR-LMH run by Heart of Racing, with an eye toward Le Mans and the possibility of selected IMSA outings thereafter. Customer programs remain a force multiplier: Proton continues to refine its Porsche 963 across WEC and IMSA, while Jota’s expansion underscores the viability of the customer-hypercar model. With post-Le Mans updates filtering in during late-summer events and autumn testing, the competitive bar keeps rising as manufacturers finalise 2025 packages.
