We've known since January that Ford will be back in 2027 at Le Mans and in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship (WEC). Following this announcement, we were waiting for details on the stakeholders in this program, which aims to add a fifth victory to Ford's list of achievements. Just a short distance from the Ford bend, and in front of a large crowd of journalists, the brand revealed more.

Oreca, much more than a chassis supplier

Dan Sayers has been selected to lead Ford's WEC Hypercar adventure. Already a program director at Red Bull Ford Powertrains, he has worked at Prodrive (then Aston Martin Racing) and Ricardo, where he helped design and develop transmissions, notably for LMP1. He is the first key figure in the future organizational chart that will be built in the coming months.

The main announcement concerned the merger with Oreca. Jim Farley, Ford's chairman and CEO, and Mark Rushbrook, director of Ford Performance, were present for the occasion, along with Hugues de Chaunac, Oreca's founder. The Frenchman made no secret of his excitement at contributing to the brand's return to the oval track. "  Ford, you can't refuse! They're very involved, and they're open to discussion and sharing. They want to win; as soon as something goes wrong, they have to say so. This gives us a real responsibility. This isn't always the case: some manufacturers don't ask us for this level of involvement. With them, we have the closest possible connection; they want us to share everything.  "

A real Ford Hypercar

The chosen engine block – already defined – has not been specified. No further details on the design of the future beast. "  It will really be a Ford  ," Hugues de Chaunac simply comments. Can we expect a V8, the type of engine that allowed Ford to achieve its four consecutive victories from 1966 to 1969? Should we instead believe a V6, like on the Ford GT that won the 2016 LMGTE Pro championship? Anything is possible: "  As for the engine architecture, there is no problem. We designed our chassis from the start to be adaptable to several configurations  ."

For the overall design of the future Hypercar, perhaps it should be modeled on... the Mustang. "  We've always wanted to run production cars, as close as possible to production cars. In 2016, we created the Ford GT, but we originally wanted to enter a Mustang.  " So, while the Mustang LMGT3 is one of the leaders in the category—and is clearly aiming for victory this Sunday—it seems plausible that the future Hypercar will feature some of the aesthetic codes of the modern Pony car. It's impossible to convert a road car into a Hypercar, but we clearly feel that links will be found.

Moreover, as a curtain-raiser for this 93rd edition, Mustangs are in the spotlight, with the Ford Mustang Challenge round. A sign? Jim Farley himself is driving this weekend. " Racing at Le Mans is awesome. With a V8, a manual transmission, that's how an American brand should do it. The first laps, when we were all together, I experienced a very emotional moment. Seeing more than 30 Mustangs made in Flat Rock, Michigan, rolling here at the exit of Tertre Rouge, the drivers warming up their tires, it was powerful. I'm proud that our brand does this kind of thing. " We can expect a program with this DNA for the Ford Hypercar.

A story to continue

Ford has four overall victories to date, and remains the only American manufacturer to have won at Le Mans. Incredible, given the number of epic victories from across the Atlantic over the decades. Chrysler and General Motors have made their mark on Grand Touring since the 2000s, sometimes with prototype forays. Briggs Cunningham was a pioneer, just as Don Panoz, in his time, took a disruptive approach, attempting to bring down Audi. But there seems to be a counter to unlock.

It is particularly the legacy of the 1966 and 1967 victories that those in charge are claiming credit for. Indeed, these first two successes were achieved by Carroll Shelby's team, which was responsible for entering the cars. The advantage went to 1967, with the addition of an all-American crew including Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt. The next two victories (1968 and 1969), won under the British flag with John Wyer at the helm, although legendary, will never quite have the same flavor. " Bringing Ford back to the top level at Le Mans has always been a dream for many of us, including our executive chairman Bill Ford," explained Jim Farley. "For us, Le Mans is the pinnacle of motorsport.  " To come back, to win back. This is the mission Ford has set itself, starting in 2027.